PR 

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Class 2S\A\^. 







THE 



OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE 



MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. 




Mlf Q,Uap2<3" JillJBlTE, 



THE 



OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE 



MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. 





BY 


■^ 




■~N 


V 


CAROLINE 


A. 


HALSTED, 


OR OF " THE LIFE 


OF 


MAKGAKET BEAUFORT, 



" INVESTIGrATlON," &C. &C. 



>/ 



" There is this remarkable in the strong afiPections of the mother, 
in the formation of the literary character ; that without ever par- 
taking of, or sympathising with the pleasures the child is fond of, the 
mother will often cherish those first decided tastes, merely from the 
delight of promoting the happiness of her son ; so that genius, 
which some would produce in a preconceived system, or implant by 
stratagem, or inforce by application, with her may be only thef 
watchful labour of love."— D'JsraeZi on the Literary Character. 



^ LONDON : 

SMITH, ELDER AND CO. 65, CORNHILL. 



1840. 



r^'^'^ 



,\H3 



LONDON : 

PRINTED BV STEWART AND MURRAY, 

OLD BAILEY. 



THIS ESSAY 



OBTAINED THE HONORARY PREMIUM 



AWARDED BY THE 



DIRECTORS OF THE GRESHAM COMMEMORATIO^T. 



MDCCCXL. 



TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE 

LOUISA, BARONESS ROLLE. 



Madam, 
I CANNOT but feel a degree of pride and plea- 
sure, in dedicating to your Ladyship a work, 
written with the hope of directing attention 
to the benefit, which has been effected in a 
long succession of ages through the influ- 
ence and example of the Matrons of England. 
It would be presumptuous in me to enume- 
rate all the munificent acts which particularly 
connect your Ladyship's name with the subject 
of the following pages ; but having dwelt within 
the scene of your benevolence, and been an 
eye-witness of that zeal in supporting the 
institutions of our ancestors, which influenced 
all around you, I may be allowed to point to 



Vm DEDICATION. 

churches endowed and supported by the same 
bountiful hand, that provides for the spiritual 
welfare and temporal comfort of hundreds 
of the rising generation ; thus strengthening 
that bond of union which in this favoured 
country, makes the orphan and friendless, 
children by adoption of the noble, the rich, 
and the powerful. 

My gratification in being permitted to place 
this volume under your protection, rests there- 
fore upon higher grounds than the indulgence 
of those personal feelings which prompt me to 
"Sicknowledge with gratitude my deep sense 
of the kind interest which your Ladyship has 
ever taken in my literary pursuits. 

I have the honour to remain. 
Madam, 
Your Ladyship's 
Obliged and obedient Servant, 

CAROLINE A. HALSTED. 



Newlan House, Lymington, 
I2th March, 1840. 



PREFACE. 



The truth conveyed in the title of the present 
Essay has been long and universally felt ; but 
though customary to acknowledge, in general 
terms, the Obligations of Literature to Mater- 
nal instruction, and Maternal influence, yet the * 
fact has never perhaps been sufficiently proved, 
by examples. 

It would ill become the writer of so humble 
a work, to take any merit for discoveries, or to 
presume on having produced new matter for 
discussion. The design of the Essay must 
indeed be so manifest that it scarcely needs a 
preface ; but, the subject of education, and the 
various modes of developing, at the most fitting 



X PREFACE. 

period, the energies of the youthful mind, now 
occupy so much of pubHc attention, that it 
has induced the author to adopt the present 
plan to shew the source, whence all permanent 
instruction must emanate. 

The term Mothers of England, comes 
home to the hearts of all. Who has not felt 
its endearing tie ? Who has not yielded to its 
tenderness in infancy, and bowed to its power 
through life ? Who has not pondered over 
those happy hours, when a Mother's precept 
was a law, — a Mother's reproof indisputable, — 
a Mother's tear, nay, a Mother's sigh, the 
bitterest of earthly sorrow ? And will the 
Matrons of England in the present day, when 
innovation of all that is sacred and dear to 
them is unblushingly advocated, when our 
ancient institutions, our holy Church, the 
domestic happiness of our country, are openly 
attacked, and insidiously menaced ; — will 



PREFACE. XI 

the Mothers of England slight or disre- 
gard that power, peculiarly their own, which 
in the most unenlightened days tempered the 
passions and moulded the character of the 
English youth, and which in more civilized 
times has led to the proverbial superiority, and 
moral excellence of the daughters of Britain, 
and produced in her sons, some of the noblest 
characters the world has ever seen. Let 
it not be supposed that the term, " Mothers 
OF England" means only Mothers of a single 
household. The women of England owe a 
debt of gratitude to their Country, in which 
their sovereignty in domestic life is willingly 
conceded, and which can only be repaid by 
rearing the children of the State in those 
several departments which are woman's allotted 
sphere. 

Gratifying indeed is it to see the infant 
thousands of our native land protected and 



XU PREFACE. 

instructed by their richer and accornpHshed 
countrywomen, who aid with their wealth and 
judicious counsel the friendless and destitute, 
— whose powerful example checks vice in 
the froward, and fosters virtue in the gentle 
and unobtrusive ; and who by their precepts, 
their goodness, and the unblemished purity 
of their own lives, diffuse blessings on all 
around, and aid in the great work of calling 
from ignorance to a knowledge of the truth, 
beings destined like themselves for immor- 
tality. 

At no period could a work, illustrative of 
Maternal care, appear with more propriety 
than at the present, when the most striking 
instance of its effects, is to be found in the 
highest station. To the judicious instruction 
of a Mother, now reaping the noblest 
reward of her solicitude, our youthful Queen 
is indebted for those numerous personal 



PREFACE. Xm 

virtues which impart splendour to her diadem, 
and secure for her the love and admiration 
of her people ; while a bright example 
of moral excellence, and of the purity and 
perfection of the female mind in more advanced 
years, is presented to us in the estimable 
Queen Dowager, — truly a " Mother of Eng- 
land," — whose admirable public conduct is 
only equalled by the feminine graces and 
unobtrusive charity that characterise her 
private life. 

Let it never be forgotten then, that from 
Mothers emanate those principles which make 
or destroy the happiness of the child they love. 
Accomplishments and worldly attainments may 
be derived from others, but holiness, self- 
control, forbearance, love of truth, integrity, 
and all the other virtues of the heart, are only 
in the Mother's gift. 

To adduce the brightest examples in illus- 



XIV PREFACE. 

tration of these different points, has been the 
chief object of the following Essay. It is 
offered to the public with diffidence; yet not 
without hope that matter so interesting, and 
which admits of being so considerably enlarged 
as the " Obligations of Literature to the Mo- 
thers of England," may attract the attention of 
abler writers, and thus diminish the regret, 
which the author feels, as she contrasts the 
imperfections of her w^ork with the importance 
of the subject. 



ARGUMENT. 



Introduction — Subject proposed — Remarks limited to four 
principal heads, viz. — I. Religion — Early British Chris- 
tians — Anglo-Saxon Matrons — Anglo-Norman period — 
Education of Englisn youth by their Mothers during the 
middle ages — Patronage bestowed by the Queens of 
England on learned men — Colleges founded in the 
Universities of Oxford and Cambridge by pious and 
learned women — Free grammar schools — Female Sove- 
reigns, the regal Mothers of England. II. The State — 
Observations on the proposed section — Queens of the Hep - 
tarchy — Maternal influence exemplified in the after-life 
of the early English Kings — The age of Chivalry — Cha- 
racter of the English youth influenced by the religious 
and moral precepts of the Mothers of England — Exam- 
ples — Foundation of Christ's school — Legislative wisdom 
of Queen Elizabeth — Apparent in the choice of her minis- 
ters. III. Science — General reflections arising from this 
division — Great characters exemplifying the powerful 
effects of Maternal love — Instances adduced of Divines — 
Statesmen — Philosophers — Historians — Orators — Poets 
— and the most eminent English Authors. IV. Learn- 
ing Generally — Subject considered in a more enlarged 
form — Mothers of England in the most extensive sense 
— Erudite women selected from each reign subsequent to 
the invention of printing — Compositions of accomplished 
female writers — their important effect on the minds of 
the English youth — General review of the subject — 
Influence of INIothers in after years — Lasting effect of 
maternal power — General observations — Conclusion. 



THE 

OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE 

TO THE 

MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. 



Mothers of England ! — That noble and en- 
dearing appellation, which comprises the high- 
est perfections of our nature, and conveys the 
loftiest idea of female excellence ! — Mothers, 
who in the exercise of every virtue, and in 
the performance of every duty may challenge 
the matrons of all climes, and all ages, with 
little fear of competition, and no apprehension 
of rivalry. 

Greece boasted of warriors who became 

B 



2 OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE TO 

invincible by the precepts and exhortations of 
heroines, whose maternal solicitude was lost 
in their patriotic ardor, and whose natural 
affections were sacrificed to the love of glory ; 
whose bitterest malediction awaited the son 
who " returned from battle without his shield," 
while tears of joy bathed the remains of him 
who had fallen, overpowered b}^ numbers. 
The Mother of Brasidas, the renowned Spar- 
tan, in honour of whom a yearly festival was 
instituted by his grateful and admiring coun- 
trymen — only inquired whether her son had 
died bravely. Such traits of the heroic for- 
titude of Mothers are abundant in antiquity ; 
and as a natural result, it followed that the 
sole ambition of their sons was to earn the 
crown of victory, and their unceasing aim from 
infancy to be distinguished among the heroes 
of the state. 

The Matrons of Rome, stoical, bold, and 



THE MOTHERS OF ENGLAXD, 3 

resolute, fostered in their children that dis- 
regard of death, that daring intrepidity, which 
eventually rendered them the masters of the 
world. Enthusiastic in their love for their 
country, they sank the Mother's feelings in the 
citizen's devotion to the republic and the 
laws. 

The stern virtues that signalized the Roman 
legislators, and the heroic courage that ani- 
mated their warriors, were shared by wives, 
and cherished by Mothers, with whom com- 
passion was considered a weakness, and hu- 
manity httle less than a crime. But the pro- 
found learning, the studious habits, and that 
severe mental discipline which formed the 
basis of the undying fame of the sages of 
Greece and the philosophers of Rome, are in 
few instances to be traced to maternal in- 
fluence. 

Cornelia, whom Rome honoured with a 
B 2 



4 OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE TO 

Statue, simply inscribed " Cornelia the Mother 
of the Gracchi," — and Aurelia the Mother of 
Julius Caesar, whose lofty spirit induced the 
ambition that so early led her son to aspire to 
the office of Pontiff, and whose anxiety for his 
success made him exclaim in embracing her — 
" You shall this day see me either chief pon- 
tiff, or an exile," — have always been renowned 
for the services which they rendered their 
country. 

But their offspring were warriors, patriots, 
and conquerors, whilst our attention must be 
confined to those who have attained distinc- 
tion, and benefited their race by the peaceful 
pursuits of literature ; and where can our 
thoughts be so satisfactorily directed as to our 
own country — to our native land ? There we 
find, together with sages, and philosophers, 
heroes great as in the ancient time, in mar- 
tial glory, and far greater in moral virtues. 



THE MOTHERS OF ENGLA.ND. O 

since their conduct was regulated by the chas- 
tening influence of revealed Religion. 

It remained for Christian England to boast 
of Mothers, who, while they inculcated on their 
children the courage and dauntless energy of 
the ancient rulers of the world, also infused 
into their young minds those sentiments of 
piety, gentleness, and virtue — that mental rec- 
titude, strict principle, and high sense of 
honour, which have procured for Great Britain 
universal respect, admiration, and confidence. 

Both Greece and imperial Rome van- 
quished but to enslave and degrade : their 
dominion could only be purchased by sub- 
duing every moral and social feeling in the 
victims of their insatiable ambition. 

England conquers that she may confer the 
precious boon of freedom upon all who are 
persecuted and oppressed. She shelters the 
alien, protects the exile, unshackles the slave ; 



b OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE TO 

and while dispensing her charity, imparts the 
holy treasures of the gospel, and the blessings of 
civilization to the farthest extremity of the globe. 

It is not the prostrate enemy, nor the victor's 
spoils that gladden the hearts of the Mothers 
of England; they rejoice in household affec- 
tion, in deeds of mercy, in acts of self-denial — 
and glory in their allotted sphere of domestic 
peace and love. In accordance v^^ith this they 
early animate their infant progeny with those 
feelings of religion, loyalty and duty, — so 
emphatically conveyed in the sacred text, 
"Fear God and honour the King,"^ — which 
have produced for Great Britain her brightest 
scholars, her most prudent legislators, and her 
wisest statesmen. 

And what may we ask has produced this 
union of the good and great, that forms so 
marked a feature in England's sons ? There 

J 1 St. Peter, ii. 17. 



THE MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. 7 

can be little hesitation respecting the answer. 
It has its source in the softening effects of true 
religion on the heart, and springs from the 
enlightening of the mind consequent on the 
extension of learning and the increase of 
knowledge in a free-born and Christian land. 
And this reply leads us at once to the con- 
sideration of " The Obligations of Liter- 
ature TO the Mothers of England." 

What scope for reflection does the inquiry 
present ! Many are the paths which might 
be separately chosen as affording facts for re- 
trospection full of interest and advantage ; but 
it is proposed to confine the present remarks 
under four principal heads : — viz. 

I. Religion, as connected with the establish- 
ment of Christianity. 

II. The State, as regards the wisdom of 
many of her legislators. 

III. Science, from the philosophers whose 



O OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE TO 

eminence has been produced by maternal care 
and solicitude ; and 

IV. Learning generally, for the able pro- 
ductions of erudite women, and for that high 
tone of moral and religious feeling which cha- 
racterises the compositions of the most distin- 
guished of England's female writers. 



L — The first point then proposed for ^consi- 
deration, is that of Religion, as connected with 
the establishment of Christianity: — that pure 
and holy doctrine which alone can render even 
the noblest characters truly great, or elevate 
into real sublimity the loftiest conceptions of 
the human intellect. 

At what period, and by whom the religion 
of Christ was introduced into England, need 
not here be discussed. It will be sufficient to 
state that among the converts to the '^ glad 



THE MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. 9 

tidings of salvation," during the life of St. 
Paul, and commemorated by that holy apostle 
as a favoured disciple,^ was Claudia, " born 
among the blue painted Britons."^ She was 
the supposed daughter of Caractacus, and the 
adopted child of his conqueror Claudius, whence 
her appellation in accordance with the usage 
of the times. Her name has been preserved 
to posterity in the epigrams of Martial, her 
contemporary at Rome, who eulogises her as 
the British Matron, "^ who was espoused to 

' " Eubulus greeteth thee, and Pudens, and Linus, and 
Claudia."— 2 Timothy, iv. 21. 

^ " Claudia, coeruleis cum sit Rufina Britannis 
Edita " Martial. 

^ " Claudia Rufina, a noble British lady, was the author of 
a book of epigrams, an elegy on the death of her husband, 
and other compositions both in verse and prose. Martial, 
who extols this lady for her virtues, her learning, and her 
beauty, was the friend of her husband, Aulus Rufus Pudens, a 
Bononian philospher, and of the Roman equestrian order." — 
Hayes, Biog. vol. vi. p. 325. 

B 5 



10 OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE TO 

Rufas,^ or Pudens, who St. Paul has farther 
distinguished by the designation of " chosen 
in the Lord;"- and who, with his fellow- 
labourer Claudia, there is little doubt was 
among the number of the "saints," styled by 
that apostle "of Caesar's household." ^ 

It being generally allowed that Christianity 
was brought into Britain during the reign of 
Arviragus, the son of Caractacus, it becomes 
more than probable that his illustrious sister, 
the Christian Claudia, having witnessed the 
constancy, and been animated by the eloquence 
and divine inspiration of the great apostle of 
the Gentiles, with that enthusiastic devotion, 
which characterised the early disciples, re- 
turned to preach " Christ crucified " in her 

^ " Claudia, nupta meo cum sit peregrina Pudenti." 

Martial. 
' "Salute RuFus chosen in the Lord." — Romans xvi. 13. 
^ See Appendix A. 



THE MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. 11 

native land, and was an instrument in the 
hands of Providence to make known the 
blessings of the gospel that " the isles afar off 
should see the Lord's glory." ^ 

If this, however, rests chiefly on conjecture 
it is not so with respect to the obligations of 
literature to the noble and learned Claudia ; for 
her virtues and acquirements having been made 
the subject of contemporary verses, both her 
birth-place, and her marriage with Rufus, are 
rendered indispu table. ^ 

Pomponia Graecina, wife of the pro-consul 
Plautius,^ and other eminent British females 
are said at this period to have embraced Chris- 

' Isaiah Ixvi. 

- Considerable light has lately been thrown upon this point 
of extreme interest by the Rev. W. Lisle Bowles, Canon Resi- 
dentiary of Salisbury, and vicar of Bremhill, Wilts. 

^ Aulus Plautius commanded the expedition which sub- 
jected Britain to the Roman arms, a.d, 43. — Tac. Anna!. 
xiii. 32. 



12 OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE TO 

tianitj; and tradition ascribes the foundation 
and name of the church of Great St. Helen's, 
Bishopsgate, to the pious and noble St. Helena: ^ 
she was the daughter of Coil us, a British prince, 
the sister of Lucius, who founded St. Peter's, 
Cornhill, the first Christian church in Lon- 
don ; the wife of Constantius Chlorus, and the 
Mother of Constantine the Great, who was 
born at York, a. d. 272, and was the first 
Christian Emperor of Rome. This princess, 
styled in ancient inscriptions " venerabilis piis- 
sima Augusta," was highly accomplished,^ 

^ St. Helen, or St. Helena, Mother of Constantine the 
Great, was of British extraction, and at the age of 80 visited 
the Holy Land. From her discovery of the true cross, she 
was reputed a saint, and several churches in different parts of 
the world were dedicated to her. — Clavis Calendaria, vol. i. 
p. 327. 

^ "The writings of this princess, among which is a book of 
Greek verses, are mentioned by Bseleus." — Hayes, Biog. vol.iv. 
p. 402. 



THE MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. 13 

rigidly devout, and by her virtue and piety 
prepared the mind of her son — " that noble 
champion of the Christian cause" — to receive 
those mystic truths for which he has for ages 
been held in just veneration. The name 
Augusta, the ancient appellation of London, 
is stated by some antiquaries to have been 
bestov^red in honour of St. Helena. She has 
always been reputed a great benefactress to the 
city, and is said by Camden to have surrounded 
it with walls ; " numbers of her coins," he adds, 
"have been discovered beneath them." 

At a subsequent era, when the early churches 
in Britain had greatly declined, partly on ac- 
count of the violences of her invading enemies, 
partly from the cruelties exercised on the 
Christian converts at the time of the persecution 
of Dioclesian, in the beginning of the fourth 
century, the establishment of Christianity was 
finally effected by the influence of a British 



14 OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE TO 

queen Bertha, the consort of Ethelbert, King of 
Kent, whose zeal for the true faith, and whose 
irreproachable conduct, were the means of 
converting her husband, and ten thousand ot 
his people, from the gross idolatry of the Anglo- 
Saxons; and also of procuring the favourable 
reception of St. Augustine, the emissary of 
Pope Gregory the Great, in the year 596.^ 

Ethelburga, her daughter, emulating the ex- 
ample, and taught by the precepts of her Mother, 
carried the apostolic doctrine into Northum- 
berland, and converted both her royal consort, 
and the northern inhabitants of the island. 

The wife of Oswy established Christianity 
in the Kingdom of Mercia, and though it would 
occupy too much space to enumerate individu- 
ally each noble proselyte, yet it is important to 
the object of the present essay to notice the 
historical fact, that the royal Matrons of Eng- 

* See Appendix B. 



THE MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. 15 

land had the merit of introducing and firmly 
establishing the blessings of true religion into 
the most considerable kingdoms of the Saxon 
Heptarchy.^ 

The importance of this most signal triumph 
to literature was incalculable. By the in- 
fluence of the Christian Bertha, seminaries 
of learning were instituted in the kingdom 
of Kent, and about the same period they 
were introduced also into the kingdom of the 
East Angles ; the monastery of Ely being 
founded in 673 by Etheldreda, daughter of the 
King of that province. 

Monasteries indeed were now universally 
founded, and these sanctuaries were multiplied 
to an astonishing extent by the devotional fer- 
vour of the female Christian converts. More- 
over, the rigid sanctity and purity of their lives 
gave these exemplary matrons such an ascen- 

' Hume's Hist, of England, vol, i. p. 64. 



16 OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE TO 

dancy over their husbands that they obtained 
without difficulty immunities and protection for 
those religious asylums, which they sacrificed 
all personal gratification to found and endow. 
Cloistral schools were invariably appended to 
these ecclesiastical establishments; within their 
sacred walls the first spark of learning was kin- 
dled in this island, and within their holy pre- 
cincts the education of the unlettered youth of 
Britain was first systematically commenced: 
this pleasing and interesting fact is therefore 
indisputable, that the princesses and noble 
women of the Saxon race were chiefly instru- 
mental in advancing the extension of "litera- 
ture"^ through the happy medium of the Chris- 
tian faith. 

^ " The literature of the Anglo-Saxons must be dated from 
the commencement of their knowledge of Christianity at the 
close of the sixth century." — Miller's Hist, philosophically 
illustrated, vol. i. p. 390. 



THE MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. 17 

It was long, however, before any farther 
progress was made in letters after this first step 
of the Anglo-Saxons. 

The incursions of the Danes, their extermi- 
nating conflicts, and the despotic sway and 
arbitrary enactments of the Norman line, (not- 
withstanding its princes were distinguished 
throughout Europe for their patronage of litera- 
ture,) were ill calculated to foster in England 
the extension either of learning or science; 
while the age of chivalry which dawned at the 
period of the Crusades, contributed to elevate 
valorous achievements and deeds of prow^ess far 
above scholastic lore or mental acquirements. 

Here then the " Obligations of Literature " 
to the " Mothers of England," are again parti- 
cularly shewn. The education of youth was at 
that time uniform ; they were left wholly in the 
hands of their Mothers, to be taught by them 
the rudiments of learning and religion, until they 



18 OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE TO 

had completed their seventh year, at which age 
they were withdrawn from maternal care to enter 
on the first stage of their miUtary probation.^ 

At this time the grossest superstition pre- 
vailed, and the piety of the earlier ecclesiastics 
had sunk into the ravings of bigotry, while the 
purity of their lives was frequently exchanged 
for excesses that brought disgrace on the holy 
rehgion which they professed. Happily, hov/- 
ever, at that period of life when human nature 
is most prone to impressions, and when the 
germs of good and evil are irrevocably sown, 
the English youth remained under the tutelage 
of their Mothers, and received from them those 
virtuous principles which made them as eminent 
throughout Europe for rectitude and generosity 
as for courageous and enterprising deeds. ^ 

During the middle ages, the works of the 

' St. Palaye. 

^ See James's Hist, of Chivalry. 



THE MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. 19 

early fathers of the church, Romaunts, and other 
productions of the rude literature of that era, 
were daily read to the Matrons when working 
at the tapestry frame ; and for their recreation 
the household bards would often recite those 
wild and exciting lays in which the traditions of 
earlier times were preserved, and the events on 
which they were founded transmitted to posterity ; 
thus perpetuating, by these romantic legends, 
facts which graver historians had neglected. 

But the most material point as regards letters 
that demands notice at this particular epoch, 
is the patronage that was bestowed by illustri- 
ous women on the few learned men who occa- 
sionally brightened the faint dawn of English 
literature ; and which prevented them from 
seeking in a foreign land that encouragement 
which they sought and received at home. 

Queen Philippa, wife of Edward III., is a 
striking and illustrious example of the benefit 



20 OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE TO 

to be derived from female influence judiciously 
exerted. Possessed of every accomplishment 
of the period, she discovered genius by her 
sagacity, and rewarded it by her bounty. ^ 
Of her eight sons, many shewed the be- 
nefit of her maternal energy in childhood, 
especially John of Gaunt, who was the protec- 
tor of Wicliffe, " the father of the Reformation," 
and the friend and benefactor of Chaucer, 
through whose writings we are made acquainted 
with the nobleness of conduct that charac- 
terized the mothers of England at that period, 
and whose well-merited encomiums on the vir- 
tuous Consort of his patron, have been perpe- 
tuated in his poem, entitled " The Book of the 
Duchess. "2 

* Froissard came over to England to offer to Queen Philip- 
pa the first part of his Chronicles. She received him and 
his work most graciously, and settled on him a pension for 
life, as an encouragement to pursue his historical labours. 

2 Written on the decease of the Princess Blanch, wife of 



THE MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. 21 

The contemporary chroniclers are profuse in 
their eulogy of the exemplary Philippa, the 
effect and value of whose influence is comme- 
morated in the noble institution of Queen's 
College, Oxford, founded under her auspices 
in 1340, by her chaplain and confessor, Robert 
Eglesfeld,^ of which she was the patroness and 
a liberal benefactor. It received from her the 
appellation which it still retains; and the 
honorary patronage of it became vested in her 
successors, the Queens Consort of England.^ 

In the endowment indeed of schools and 
colleges by the illustrious women of that early 

John Duke of Lancaster, and mother of King Henry IV., 
founder of the Lancastrian dynasty. 

' The founder of this magnificent college appears to have 
been highly esteemed by his royal master and mistress, and 
to have shared in their intimacy and confidence. Eglesfeld 
employed his interest at Court in promoting religion and 
learning. 

2 Chalmers' Hist. Oxford, vol. i. p. 89. 



22 OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE TO 

period, the British Matrons most effectually 
accelerated the progress of knowledge, and the 
advancement of sound and useful learning. 

The Universities abundantly prove the truth 
of this assertion, and nowhere is there stronger 
testimony of the " Obligations of Literature to 
the Mothers of England," than is afforded by 
the consideration of the munificence, which 
either founded or enriched many of the most 
celebrated academical establishments both at 
Oxford and Cambridge. 

As far back as the year 1295, Ela Longespee,^ 
Countess of Warwick, shines conspicuous as a 
chief benefactress to Merton College, which, 
in point of legal establishment, claims the 
priority of the seminaries of learning at 
Oxford.1 

Baliol College was the pious work of the 
Lady Devorguilla, though founded by her hus- 

' Chalmers' Hist. Oxford, vol. i. p. 6. 



THE MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. 23 

band, the valiant father of Baliol, King of 
Scots. She completed it after his decease, 
considerably enlarged his original design, gave 
it a body of statutes, and most liberally en- 
dowed it.^ 

Margaret, Countess of Richmond and Derby, 
distinguished by the appellation of *' Mother to 
the students in both universities, and a pa- 
troness to all the learned men in England," by 
her early countenance and support of Smyth, 
Bishop of Lincoln, enabled him to become the 
founder of Brasenose.^ This eminent lady 
was herself also a great benefactress to learning 
in various ways, of w^hich her institution of a 
perpetual preacher at Cambridge, and the 
Margaret Professorships both there and at 
Oxford, which perpetuate her name, are mu- 
nificent and striking examples.^ 

' Chalmers' Hist. Oxford, vol. i. p. 44. 

^ See Appeudix C. 

^ Fuller's Cliurch History, sec. vi. p. 89. 



24 OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE TO 

Lady Paulet, the widow of Sir Thomas 
Pope, was styled " The Foundress of Trinity," 
from her active and honourable fulfilment ot 
her husband's intentions, as well as from her 
own individual bounty: and Wadham Col- 
lege owes its completion to the benefactions 
and liberality of Dorothy, the zealous and 
enlightened relict of Nicholas Wadham,^ its 
founder. 

At the sister University, the female name is 
even still more conspicuous. 

A convent of Dominican friars, founded in 
the year 1280 by Alicia, Countess of Oxford, 
occupied the site, and was afjterwards converted 
into the present Emanuel College.^ 

Clare Hall, one of the most ancient academi- 
cal foundations at Cambridge, was the noble 
work of "the princely Clare,"^ Elizabeth, wife 

* Chalmers, vol. ii. pp. 347 and 406. 
^ Hist. Cambridge, p. 97. 
^ Gray's Installation Ode. 



THE MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. 25 

of Sir John de Burgh, and grand-daughter of 
King Edward the First.^ 

Pembroke Hall was founded and richly 
endowed by the " sad Chatillon," (relict of 
Aymer de Valence, Earl of Pembroke,) who 
on her husband's decease renounced the world, 
and devoted herself to works of sanctity and 
benevolence.^ 

Queen's College was commenced by the ill- 
fated Margaret, " Anjou's heroine,"^ and com- 
pleted by the piety and active benevolence of 
her beautiful rival, Elizabeth Wydville,* consort 
of Edward the Fourth : hence, designated by 
Gray, " The paler rose." 

Christ's College owes its existence and pros- 
perity to the enlarged views of Margaret, 



1 Nichols' Royal WHls, p. 22. 

^ Granger's Biog. Hist. vol. i. p. 67. 

^ Gray's Installation Ode. 

* Sandford's Geneological Hist. p. 107. 



26 OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE TO 

Countess of Richmond/ mother of King 
Henry the Seventh. 

St. John's College also claims the " vener- 
able Margaret " as its munificent foundress :" 
and Sidney Sussex College attests the liberality 
and zeal of Frances Sidney, (relict of Thomas 
Radcliffe, Earl of Sussex,) v^ho, in the year 
1598, bequeathed funds towards the erection 
of the College at Cambridge, v^hich has immor- 
talized her name.^ 

After the invention of printing, instances of 
the foundation of free grammar schools, exhi- 
bitions, donations, and fellov^^ships by noble 
ladies, might be so abundantly produced, that 
a volume w^ould scarcely contain an account of 
those who either wholly or in part thus contri- 
buted to the progress of learning. 

The first division of the subject need not 

1 Fuller, Ch. Hist. sec. vi. p. 89. 

2 Nichols' Royal Wills, p. 356. 
^ Granger's Biog. Hist. p. 284. 



THE MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. 27 

therefore be farther prolonged, than by briefly 
adverting to the female Sovereigns — the regal 
Mothers of England, — who have graced and 
ennobled a later period of our national 
history. 

Queen Elizabeth derived as much fame from 
the literary splendour, as from the political 
events of her reign. She assembled around 
her learned men, whose talents were roused 
by the hope of attracting her favour,^ and 
whom she encouraged by the example which 
she herself afforded of studious habits and 
zeal for the advancement of knowledge. She 
too, like the early Saxon Queens, befriended 
literature by substituting the peaceful tolerance 
of pure religion for the merciless persecution 
of bigotry and oppression : and the memorable 
words engraved on her monument in West- 
minster Abbey, — " Mother of her country, — 

^ See Appendix D. 

c2 



28 OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE TO 

a nursing-mother to religion and ail liberal 
sciences/' are a fitting tribute to her incom- 
parable talents, and justly express the advan- 
tages that resulted to the kingdom at large 
from her superior genius, and powerful mind. 

Queen Mary, the consort of William the 
Third, set a great example to the whole nation. 
Bishop Burnet, in deploring her early death, 
and eulogising her many virtues, says, — " It 
gave us a very particular joy, when we saw that 
the person whose condition seemed to mark 
her out as the defender and perfector of our 
reformation, was such in all respects in her 
public administration, as well as in her private 
deportment, that she seemed well fitted for 
accomplishing that work for which we thought 
she was born."^ The description of her truly 
Christian death by this eminent prelate, is 
singularly striking and impressive. 

^ Burnet's Own Times, vol. iv. p. 195. 



THE MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. 29 



9 



Her sister, Queen Anne, equally encouraged 
genius by the jfreedom of thought which then 
prevailed. She emancipated her subjects from 
the trammels to which letters had so long been 
subjected by the opposite extremes of popery 
and puritanism; and learned persons, and 
works of genius so abounded in her reign, 
that it procured for it the appellation of the 
"Augustan age."^ 

Finally, a review of the estimation in which 
the English court, and the excellencies of 
British women were held during the long 
reign of the late venerable Queen Charlotte— 
so exemplary in her deportment, and so 
eminent for the practice of every virtue that 
could add lustre to a diadem — with the con- 
trast afforded by the high tone of EngUsh 
literature at the close of the last century, as 
compared with the vicious and pestilential 

' See Appendix E. 



30 OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATCRE TO 

productions of writers in neighbouring king- 
doms, may well terminate, and nobly exem- 
plifies " the Obligations of Literature to the 
Mothers of England," when considered with 
reference to intellectual advancement in con- 
sequence of the introduction of the Christian 
religion, and the extension of Christian 
principles. 



11. — The second part of the subject will 
treat of the obligations of the State to the 
Mothers of England as regards the wisdom of 
many of her legislators, whose abilities may 
in numerous instances be ascribed to the in- 
fluence which their Mothers' great talents, 
vigorous intellect, and strong judgment ex- 
ercised over their active minds in child- 
hood. 

It has been beautifully observed that " the 



THE MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. 31 

office and look of maternal love, and tender- 
ness of maternal affection, open Heaven to the 
child through the medium of the Mother's 
heart ;" and certain it is that the unwearied 
patience, the attractive gentleness, which call 
forth the first ideas of the infant, and are 
mingled with the consciousness of his own 
helplessness, produce at the earliest dawn of 
reason, a depth of affection, and a cling- 
ing devotion, that remain unbroken through 
life. 

If then the knowledge of the good and evil 
path, and of those sacred truths which create 
a regard for the one, and an abhorrence of the 
other, are among the earliest impressions of 
the child, and are inseparably united through- 
out his earthly career with the love of that 
gentle and unselfish monitress, who first im- 
planted religious feelings in his mind, and 
then called them into active exertion;- — how 



32 OBLIGATtONS OF LITERATURE TO 

effective, how enduring must be the moral 
lessons inculcated by such a parent? How 
unbounded the power of that Mother whose 
vigorous mind, or profound learning roused 
corresponding energy in her offspring, and 
whose unsuspected influence was the happy 
medium of instilling those principles of for- 
bearance, decision, and self-denial — that strict 
reverence for truth, honour, and justice — 
the practice in short in domestic life of 
those virtues and noble sentiments, the 
extension of which in the more enlarged 
sphere of action, forms the only and sure 
basis from which legislative wisdom can 
spring. 

The same inflexible probity, the same sub- 
mission to principles of duty, and the same 
steady firmness required in the limited circle 
of household love is still more necessary and 
essential to the well-being of the community. 



THE MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. 66 

The petty tyrant in the one, will be the 
despot and oppressor in the other; while the 
self-governed, and the beloved one of his home, 
can scarcely fail to be the just ruler of the 
multitude, and the upright administrator of the 
laws of his country. 

Truth is ever consistent : and purity of 
motive and generosity of heart give a weight 
to talent, and induce a confidence in those in 
authority, that the brightest genius and most 
learned men would in vain seek to acquire 
over their fellow subjects, if the domestic 
virtues that ought to be cultivated in youth 
were found wanting in manhood. 

The mafernal power, however, of which we 
are now speaking, is altogether different from 
the interference of a mere busy and restless 
spirit. Though the fruits of a Mother's mental 
discipline may become evident in the public 
career of her son, yet her influence must be 
c 5 



34 OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE TO 

exercised only in the sanctity of home. When 
assumed openly in political matters, affairs of 
state, or professional avocations, woman's in- 
fluence founded on woman's silent duty, and 
springing from woman's warm affection, merges 
in the mere love of rule, and is lost in her 
assumption of masculine power based solely on 
ambition. But to crush the first germ of evil 
passions in childhood, to moderate the feverish 
enthusiasm of youth, to combat prejudices and 
evil propensities, and to lead back the mind in 
all trials, and under all temptations, to that 
moral repose, that rectitude, and self-control, 
still so hallowed by a Mother's early love, that 
it wanted but the Mother's influence to revive 
them, — there lies the real power, — there the 
active principle, — the effect of which has been 
so eminently proved in the lives of many of 
the wisest statesmen that grace the annals of 
our country. 



THE MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. 35 

The consideration of this second part of the 
subject obliges us again to return to the early 
ages of the Saxon Heptarchy. 

After the conversion of Ethelbert, through 
the instrumentality of his illustrious consort, 
that monarch turned his attention to the im- 
provement of his unruly subjects; and strove 
to reclaim them from that gross barbarism and 
ignorance which distinguished the pagan Saxon 
tribes. He enacted a code of laws, and as 
these were the first written statutes promulgated 
in Britain, Ethelbert is entitled to head the list 
of its wise and judicious legislators ;^ but it is 
to the enlightened Bertha, that their preserva- 
tion is owing, for in the sanctuary of Becul- 
ver,^ — the first Christian establishment in our 
island (and which is mainly attributable to her 
zeal and piety), — these laws were copied, cor- 

* See Appendix F. 
^ See Appendix G. 



36 OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE TO 

rected, and multiplied. The only penmen of 
those times were monks, and the only seminaries 
of learning were monasteries. In these holy 
asylums (to which was invariably appended a 
"scriptorium," or writing-room) all the royal 
charters of the Saxon kings were compiled ;^ 
and from these emanated all their legislative 
regulations. 

Indeed, in narrating the ObUgations of Lite- 
rature to the Saxon Matrons, first, by the 
propagation of Christianity, arid subsequently 
by the establishment of religious houses (which 
were effected almost entirely by the munificence 
and liberality of the royal proselytes, united to 
their well-directed influence over their warlike, 
and in many instances, idolatrous husbands), it 
rnust not be forgotten that the earUest annals of 
our national history were therein collected and 

^ See Appendix H. 



THE MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. 37 

perpetuated.^ Rude as their compositions may 
appear in the present day, yet without these 
early traditions all knowledge of what passed 
from the Christian era to the Norman conquest 
would have been irrecoverably lost, the Saxon 
laws would have remained unrecorded, their 
authors had been unknown and unhonoured, 
and the customs, usages, and pursuits of our 
forefathers would have been utterly buried in 
oblivion.^ 

If Hume's inference be correct,^ that Abbesses 
were admitted to sit in the Wittenagemot or 
" assembly of wise men " (the national council 
of the Kingdom), because they often signed the 
King's charters or grants — it proves yet more 
the high estimation in which the Anglo-Saxon 
women were held. 

The name of Alfred the Great, though not 

* See Appendix I. ^ See Appendix J. 

3 Hume, vol. i. p. 199. 



38 OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE TO 

the earliest, was undoubtedly the most eminent 
that dignifies our legislative and regal annals. 
Beloved by his father far above his other sons, 
every indulgence that could have enervated a 
less noble mind was shewn him. When a mere 
child, his health being delicate he was sent with 
a princely retinue to travel in the South of 
Europe, and twice before he had attained his 
ninth year he had accompanied his royal parent 
to Rome, then the great resort of all that was 
learned and wise in the civilized world.^ But 
with advantages thus early bestowed, unusual 
alike to his tender age and the time in which 
he flourished, and with expenditure profusely 
lavished upon him, yet so unenlightened was 
the period in which he lived, that Alfred at 
twelve years of age could neither read nor 
write." 

■ ^ Turner's Anglo-Saxons, i. p. 192. 
^ Asser, p. 16. See Appendix K. 



THE MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. 39 

The development of those rare intellectual 
powers which surmounted every obstacle that 
desultory habits may be supposed to have in- 
duced, when confirmed by rank, wealth, and 
the absence of all control, was mainly attribu- 
table to his step -mother, Judith, the Queen of 
Ethelwulf. She was a princess of great learn- 
ing and rare accomplishments for that early 
period, and having promised a finely illuminated 
book of Saxon poems — to which Alfred had 
been listening with enthusiasm — to such of her 
sons as should the soonest be able to read them, 
the innate energy of Alfred's dormant talents 
was roused, and the foundation was laid of that 
learning which produced the greatest benefit 
to his country.^ 

His love of minstrelsy is presumed to have 
arisen from his fondness for the Anglo-Saxon 
poetry ; often, while the aged bard recounted 
^ See Appendix L. 



40 OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE TO 

the deeds of heroes, the melodious strains of his 
harp naturally diverted the attention of the 
enthusiastic child ; but his Mother's constant 
endeavour was to impress upon the young 
Prince's mind the merit of those deeds, to the 
recital of vsrhich he so early loved to listen, and 
w^hich he himself afterwards so gloriously emu- 
lated. 

Alfred's history is too well known to need 
recapitulation. As soon as he had learned Saxon 
he studied Latin, and the difficulties he en- 
countered in his ardent thirst for knowledge 
induced him, after he ascended the throne, to 
confer preferment and emolument upon those 
only who were distinguished for their love of 
letters. He translated into his native tongue 
many valuable classical and theological works,^ 
formed a body of laws which are the ground- 

' See Appendix M. 



THE MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. 41 

work of the common-law, divided the kingdom 
into " shiresj" " hundreds," and " tythings," 
and by his acts and his writings, the evidence 
at once both of his wisdom and his vigour of 
mind, has left to posterity a character never 
surpassed in our annals for the encouragement 
of literature, and the advancement of virtue. 
His system of jurisprudence which was adopted 
by Edward the Confessor,^ was considered per- 
fect; to him the country are indebted for 
the establishment of trial by jury, and as the 
founder of the University of Oxford, which he 
instituted for the purpose of compelling his 
nobles to educate their children, the memory 
of Alfred the Great must ever be venerated by 
posterity.^ 

In reviewing the period from the Norman 
Conquest to that of the Reformation, usu- 

1 Miller's Hist. Phil. Illus. vol. i. p. 373. 
^ Turner's Anglo-Saxons, vol. ii. p. 312. 



42 OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE TO 

ally denominated, with reference to English 
history, "the Middle Ages," little can be 
added to that which has been adduced in the 
first division of the subject, when speaking of 
the benefits derived by the youth of that parti- 
cular time, from maternal influence and instruc- 
tion ; and when alluding to the munificence 
and enlarged views, evinced by the Mothers of 
England in the endowment of colleges, halls, 
and other seminaries of pious education. 

At that early age indeed, religion was so 
closely connected with the advancement of 
literature, that to separate the two would be 
almost impossible, and would add little force 
to the present inquiry. 

That period was the age of chivalry, and 
chivalry was itself partly an ecclesiastical order. 
Like Christianity it also arose gradually, and, 
controlled by Christianity, it paved the way for 
great and mighty results. 



THE MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. 43 

Nevertheless at this period, so important in 
English history, from having given birth amidst 
its storms and revolutions to our present glo- 
rious constitution, and to laws appreciated by 
all Europe, and in which began that liberty and 
freedom so dear to our national pride, and 
that high consideration for wo'men which has 
induced those refined domestic habits and 
feelings proverbial throughout the world, — the 
talents, judgment, and powerful intellect of 
many of the English Queens, bespeak forcibly 
the influence that British Matrons in a less 
elevated sphere, may be supposed to have 
exercised throughout the land for the benefit 
of their husbands and sons. 

The consort of William the Conqueror was 
an admirable character, eminent for the prac- 
tice of every feminine virtue, but more especi- 
ally as regards the duties of a wife and a 
mother. 



44 OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE TO 

Her youngest son (afterwards King Henry I.) 
was surnamed " Beauclerc " for his great scho- 
larship, and was considered the most learned 
prince of the age. In his patronage of genius, 
and his desire of cultivating a love of letters 
among his subjects, this wise monarch was most 
ably seconded by the accomplished British 
Princess^ whom he withdrew from a nunnery 
to place on the throne, attracted by her superior 
acquirements. She was a worthy descendant 
of Alfred the Great, and inherited from her 
Anglo-Saxon progenitors that intellectual taste 
and ardour for literature, which proved so bene- 
ficial to the Kingdom generally, by the impulse 
it gave to corresponding feelings and pursuits : 



* Matilda, the orphan daughter of Malcolm, King of Scot- 
land, by the sister of Edgar Etheling ; and thus by her mo- 
ther descended from the Anglo-Saxon line of Alfred and his 
successors. By this union the royal families of the Normans 
and Saxons became connected. 



THE MOTHERS OF ENGLAND, 45 

and her epithet of the '' Good Queen Maud,"^ 
by which she is to this day distinguished, be- 
speaks, far more than mere panegyric, the 
piety and virtues with which she was so re- 
markably gifted. 

Matilda, wife of King Stephen, is eulogized 
by all the old chroniclers of her age,^ not 
merely for her strength of understanding, but 
for the rare power of meeting every variety of 
fortune with equanimity; and of maintaining 
her own dignity, and that of her husband by the 
exercise of rare and singular talents. She was 
a woman of extraordinary merit, and her capa- 
cious mind was well suited to meet and sup- 
port the difficulties of the perilous time in 
which she flourished.^ The industrious and 



^ Brayly's Londiniana, vol. i. p. 119. 

^William of Malmsbury, fol. 107. Hen. Huntingdon, 
fol. 214. 

^ See Appendix N. 



46 OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE TO 

the persevering were distinguished by marks of 
her especial favor ; and the foundation by this 
Princess of St. Katherine's Hospital/ which to 
this day remains under the patronage of the 
Queens Consort of England fully attests her 
devotional fervor, her beneficence, and her 
charity. 

Henry the Second, whose reign was re- 
markable for public order and tranquillity, was 
almost wholly educated- by his mother, the 
grand-daughter of William the Conqueror, and 
the legitimate heiress of the crown. 

Unsuccessful in her efforts, and compelled to 
flee from England, the Empress Matilda^ with- 

^ See Appendix O, 

^ He was devoted to reading, and bestowed much time 
in literary discussions. His knowledge of history was great, 
and he encouraged and rewarded the writers of his time ; 
the most celebrated of which were William of Malmsbury, 
Henry of Huntingdon, and Giraldus Cambrensis. 

^ This Princess was married, first to Henry the Fifth, 



THE MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. 47 

drew her son to his patrimonial inheritance of 
Anjou, and there taught him those principles 
of firmness and justice which eventually led to 
the most useful results. Her vigorous mind 
induced her thoroughly to perceive the cause 
of her own unpopularity, and to comprehend 
the value of so excellent a character as her 
brother the " great Earl of Gloucester," ^ whom 
she held up as an example to her son. Taking 
him then as his model, the high qualities 
which influenced Henry the Second in his 
just, but mild government, would have formed 
a period of uninterrupted prosperity, had it 

Emperor of Germany, and, secondly, to Geoffrey Plantagenet, 
Earl of Anjou. By this latter union her son Henry the 
Second became the founder of the Plantagenet dynasty. 

^ This powerful Baron, so distinguished for his struggles 
in behalf of his sister, the Empress Matilda, against 
Stephen, was the natural son of King Henry the First. He 
was esteemed the wisest, the most learned, and the most 
virtuous nobleman of his age. — See William of Malmsbury, 
p. 6. 



48 OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE TO 

not been for his struggle "with the church of 
Rome. In all cases of emergency, the King 
referred to his Mother, and he always pro- 
fited largely by her prudence and sagacity.^ 

Queen Eleanor, his consort, liberally en- 
couraged the taste for poetry, then beginning 
to be appreciated in England. Bards and 
minstrels flourished under her patronage. She 
loved their verses, and patronised their genius. 
She it was who inspired her sons with that 
admiration for the poetry of the Troubadours, 
to which may be traced that spirit of romance ; 
that heroism and daring intrepidity, which 
raised the actions of Richard Coeur-de-lion so 
much above the level of his contemporaries. 

Richard was himself a minstrel and a poet ; 

and the taste for literature with which he had 

been so early imbued, was soon shewn in the 

improved education of the English youth, 

^ See Appendix P. 



THE MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. 49 

and the increasing number of studious men 
during his eventful reign. On his accession to 
the throne, this monarch evinced his gratitude 
to his Mother, and proved the sense he enter- 
tained of her superior abilities by entrusting to 
her the sole government of his kingdom, dur- 
ing his absence on the Continent. 

From the patronage, indeed, of the Anglo- 
Norman Queens, our first national poetry, 
distinct from minstrel recitation arose. The 
great intellectual want, after the Norman 
conquest, was that of an original vernacular 
literature which would interest and instruct 
the general mind of the community. Poetry 
first produced this in England; the itinerant 
minstrels were the instruments, and a part of 
the lettered clergy the first effective agents to 
introduce and diffuse it. Royal encourage- 
ment, and the interest manifested generally by 
the ladies of the court, induced the younger 



50 OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE TO 

ecclesiastics to apply themselves to metrical 
compositions^ which, once esteemed in the 
higher circles of life, could not fail to he 
generally attractive. 

A taste for historical information also began 
to prevail in England after the conquest. The 
Anglo-Norman ladies, rivalling their husbands 
in literary curiosity, partook of the general 
feeling, and the high-born not only learned to 
read, but some few also to write. This fully 
explains their fitness to be the chosen in- 
structors of the English ^^outh, until these last 
were called upon by their fathers to enter 
upon their martial career. 

King Edward the First owes an acknow- 
ledged debt of gratitude to his Mother, Eleanor, 
consort of Henry the Third ; and the memory 
and virtues of his wife Eleanor, of Castile, 
'^ a godlie and modeste princesse, full of pitie, 
and one that showed moche favour to the 



THE MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. 51 

English nation ; readie to releve every man^s 
grief that sustained wrong ; and to make them 
friends that were at discord, so farre as in 
her laie,"^ have been perpetuated by that 
series of magnificent architectural crosses 
which he erected to her memory.- She ac- 
companied him to the holy land, and was 
the means of introducing to the English 
nation on her return, many useful arts, and 
much valuable information. She strove to 
soften in her royal consort that stern policy 
which produced such severe treatment of the 
Welsh and the Jews ; and her character has 
justly been painted with peculiar enthusiasm 
by historians. 

' Hollinshed's Chron. sub. anno 1291. 

' Of these crosses which were erected at all the places 
where her corpse rested on its journey from Hornby, in 
Lincolnshire, to Westminster Abbey, those at Northampton 
and Waltham still exist ; and tradition has perpetuated, by 
their appellations, the sites of the rest. 

d2 



52 OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE TO 

Philippa, the estimable partner of Edward 
the Third, has been already noticed as a 
mother to thousands, both by her zeal in 
promoting religious instruction, and by her 
patronage of learned and upright men : never- 
theless, in this division of the subject, — de- 
voted as it exclusively is to such eminent cha- 
racters as have shed, individually, peculiar 
lustre on their country, and dignity on their 
homes, — Philippa, as the parent of Edward 
the Black Prince, claims a distinguished place. 
As the victor of Poictiers, his courage and 
valour have been renowned for ages; as a 
statesman, his abilities are demonstrated by 
his government of Guienne, and by the result 
of many difficult and important missions : but 
it is as a Christian hero, that the Prince of 
Wales affords so beautiful an example, and con- 
trasts so forcibly with the heathen warriors of 
antiquity. His generosity in waiting personally 



THE MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. 53 

upon the French monarch his captive — his hu- 
miHty in remaining uncovered and standing in 
his presence/ — his moderation and self-com- 
mand in the moment of victory, — his noble 
conduct to the royal prisoner, when presenting 
him, amidst the shouts of his admiring country- 
men, to his parents, is a striking illustration of 
the subhme in moral character, induced by the 
chastening influence of religious feelings, when 
compared with the chains and insult, the 
degradation and scorn, with which illustrious 
prisoners were often treated in ancient times. 

If Providence had spared his life, the Prince 
who could so govern himself, might well have 
been entrusted with the charge of a kingdom; 
and the virtues which dignify and immor- 

^ " The French monarch felt the nobleness of the Prince's 
generous courtesy, and proclaimed him '* un gentil seigneur." 
It was, indeed, great and admirable : the highest refinements 
of the chivalric character was never more brilliantly displayed." 
— S. Turner, vol. ii. p. 212. 



54 OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE TO 

talize his name, infinitely beyond his heroic 
deeds, attest forcibly the value of that 
Mother's instructions by whom alone (in ac- 
cordance with the custom of the middle ages) 
religious and moral education had been im- 
parted, until the period arrived of the youthful 
warrior's entrance upon his knightly career. 

The abilities and accomplishments of the 
heroic consort of Henry the Sixth, ^ have 
been handed down to posterity in the com- 
positions of Lydgate, a contemporary, one of the 
earliest of our native poets ; and there can be 
little doubt that her powerful mind would 
have fostered learning, and befriended genius 
with munificence and enthusiasm, if discord 
and civil war had not obliged her to direct 
her energies to the performance of other and 
less peaceful duties. 

The termination, however, of domestic 

' See Appendix Q. 



THE MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. 55 

feuds, and the introduction which immediately 
followed, of the art of printing, now contri- 
buted to the full development of literature; 
and its beneficial effects were speedily ap- 
parent, not merely in the enlarged education 
afforded to women, but its consequent happy 
effects upon their progeny. 

To Margaret of Lancaster, Mother of King 
Henry the Seventh, that monarch was indebted 
for his early tuition, and for the germs of that 
wisdom which procured for him the appellation 
of the *' Solomon of England." The incalcu- 
lable benefit which subsequent ages have de^ 
rived from his wise laws, and subjugation of 
the feudal system, is owing mainly to the early 
precepts, and judicious instruction, bestowed 
in solitude and under persecution, by his 
Mother. She was indeed in its most extended 
sense the patroness of learning: she was the 
friend of Caxton, whose works she assisted and 



66 OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE TO 

promoted ; and by her example to the ladies of 
her son's court, she prepared the way for that 
galaxy of female talent and erudition which 
shone so brightly in the succeeding century. 
To her was entrusted the infant tuition of her 
grandson King Henry the Eighth/ and from 
her he imbibed that love of letters which dis- 
tinguished the opening of his reign, and which 
induced him to bestow such pains on the 
education of his daughters, Mary and Eliza- 
beth, the future Queens of England. 

It was also from her attention to his theolo- 
gical studies, that he derived that passion for 
controversy which obtained for him the appella- 
tion of "Defender of the Faith," and which 
was the chief instrument for procuring to future 
generations the blessings of the Reformation, 
and the ascendancy of Protestantism. 

The learned and accomplished governess of 

' Tytler's Life of Henry the Eighth. 



THE MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. o7 

Edward the Sixth, holds a distinguished place 
among the eminent Matrons of England. She 
was the second daughter of Sir Anthony Cooke, 
and the wife of Sir Nicholas Bacon, Lord 
Keeper of the Great Seal ; and her conspicuous 
station among the literati of Europe, and the 
astonishing attainments of her two sons, — the 
glory and ornament of their age, — contributed 
to shed fresh lustre upon this admirable lady.i 
Although so young, her pupil had abilities 
which far surpassed his years, while his learning 
amazed all who conversed with him.^ He w^as 
the first British monarch who was bred up in 
the reformed faith, and his foundation and 

^ " She was liberally educated by the care of her father ; 
and having added much acquired knowledge to her great 
natural endowments, she was constituted governess to King 
Edward the Sixth. She was exquisitely skilled in the Greek, 
Latin, and Italian tongues, and was eminent for piety, virtue, 
and learning." — Ballard's Memoirs, p. 132. 
2 See Appendix R. 

d5 



58 OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE TO 

endowment of Christ's Hospital,^ with the 
inestimable advantages entailed by his enlarged 
views on countless numbers of his youthful 
countrymen,^ render his name immortal in the 
annals of English literature. 

Francis Bacon, Lord Verulam, the second 
son of Lady Bacon, of whom it was said by 
Addison, "that he had the sound distinct 
comprehensive knowledge of Aristotle, with all 
the beautiful light graces and embellishments 
of Cicero," owed (as did his brother) the early 
part of his education to his incomparable 
Mother;^ and it is admitted, that to her zeal, 
and anxious care, — to the pains which she 

* For the Foundation Charter of King Edward the Sixth, of 
the Hospitals of Christ for the education of poor children ; 
Bridewell for the correction and amendment of the idle and 
vagabond ; and St. Thomas the Apostle for the relief of the 
sick and diseased — see the Appendix to the Rev. W. Trol- 
lope's elaborate History of Christ's Hospital, No. V. 

* See Appendix S. ^ See Appendix T. 



THE MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. 59 

bestowed upon him from his tenderest infancy 
—he was mainly indebted for the great reputa- 
tion that will ever dignify his name. As a 
learned statesman, his abilities are well known; 
as Lord High Chancellor of England, the 
wisdom of his judgments have never been 
impugned ; ^ and as the founder of experimental 
philosophy. Lord Bacon stands pre-eminent, 
and has justly been considered one of the 
greatest benefactors to mankind. ^ His vene« 
ration for his Mother, and his due sense of her 
valued tuition was shewn by his desire to be 
interred in the same grave with her, at St. 
Michael's, near St. Albans, Herts. A striking 
instance and a most beautiful example of the 
advantage that may be derived from maternal 
influence early and discreetly exerted over the 
tender mind of infancy. 

Mildred, the elder sister of Lady Bacon, and 

' Encyclo. Brit. p. 727. ' See Preface to Novum Organum. 



60 OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE TO 

wife of the great Lord Burleigh/ High Trea- 
surer of England, and Privy Councillor to 
Queen Elizabeth, was equally celebrated. It 
is recorded, that this eminent statesman con- 
sulted her upon all difficult and important 
points, and always acknowledged the advantage 
he derived from her extraordinary learning and 
intellectual powers. Her fortitude was severely 
tried in the loss of so many of her children, 
though her resignation was beautifully shewn 
in her pious submission to the Divine Will: 
and " The Meditation " written by Lord Bur- 
leigh after her decease, shews that her virtues 
were so great, and her learning so profound, as 
to render the touching words that terminate his 
treatise — "Written by me in sorrow,^' — pecu- 

* Sir Wm. Cecil, Lord Burleigh, has been deservedly placed 
at the head of our English statesmen ; not only for his great 
abilities and indefatigable application, but also for his inviol- 
able attachment to the interests of his mistress. — Granger's 
Biog, History, vol. i. p. 189, 



THE MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. 61 

liarly interesting. Her only surviving son, Sir 
Robert Cecil, secretary to Queen Elizabeth, 
eventually attained the highest offices of the 
state, and was considered the ablest minister of 
the succeeding reign.i He was advanced to 
the dignity of Earl of Salisbury,^ and his pru- 
dence, his integrity, and moderation, afford 
evidence of the excellent precepts which must 
early and forcibly have been inculcated by his 
good and gifted Mother.^ 

Respecting the legislative wisdom of Queen 
Elizabeth,* and the beneficial effects of her 
powerful mind, it is only necessary to consider 
the events of her glorious reign, and to dwell 

^ Hume, chap. xlv. p. 218. 

' " This nobleman was greatly esteemed by King James the 
First, and it was through his sagacity and penetration, when 
Lord High Treasurer, that the gunpowder plot was dis- 
covered," — See Winwood's Memorials, vol. ii. p. 171. 

' See Appendix U. 

* " Never prince had a wiser council than she, yet never 
prince needed it less ; for she was herself a counsellor to her 
covmcil." — Sir Richard Baker, p. 400. 



.^- 



62 OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE TO 

on the gratitude and respect with which her 
country cherishes her memory. Never was 
this island more prosperous at home or more 
formidable abroad, than during her rule.^ 
Letters flourished, knowledge became general, 
and for learned men, the Elizabethan era 
ranks amongst the most brilliant epoch of our 
political and scholastic annals ;~ whilst her 
Matrons, equally erudite and studious, were 
alike unrivalled for purity of morals, and intel- 
lectual endowments.^ 

Were it not from the apprehension of ex- 
tending this part of the subject beyond the 
prescribed limits, many more instances might 
be adduced of statesmen whose talents were 
elicited and fostered by the judgment and 
influence of exemplary Mothers. But the 

* Historical and Political Discourse on the Laws and Go- 
verament of England, p. 155. 

2 Camden's Annals of Queen Elizabeth. 
2 Rttssel on Women, vol. ii. p. 120. 



THE MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. 63 

dignified position of Great Britain during the 
reign of Queen Elizabeth of whom it has been 
recorded by a learned foreigner, that "there 
have been but few great kings whose reigns 
can be compared to hers, it being the most 
beautiful period in English history,"^ renders 
it the most fitting time for terminating that 
portion of this work in which we proposed to 
consider " the Obligations of the State to the 
Mothers of England, through the wisdom of 
many of her legislators."^ 



III. The third division of this Essay contains 
that part of the subject which relates to the 
great names that maternal care and solicitude 
have given to science. And here we would 

^ Bayle's Historical and Critical History. 

' " Lord Burleigh and the other great ministers of Eliza- 
beth were absolutely of her own choice." — Granger's Biog. 
Hist. p. 190. 



64 OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE TO 

beg permission to pause, with the view of 
drawing particular attention to the above simple 
expression, " maternal care and solicitude," 
inasmuch as the last section was devoted pecu- 
liarly to the consideration of Mothers whose 
powerful minds, superior abilities, or profound 
learning, produced corresponding fruits in their 
infant progeny, advancing the progress of 
knowledge by their own zeal, and extending 
its benefits by the energy which they early 
inspired in the minds of their eminent and 
illustrious sons. 

But in this portion, a mother's love is rather 
to be considered : the all-powerful and touching 
effects of maternal influence — founded on con- 
sistency of conduct, and purity of motive- 
forming the source from whence has sprung a 
host of men so groat, and so gifted, that they 
pre-eminently tend to exalt the character of 
the Mothers of England. 



THE MOTHERS OF ENGLAND, 65 

The examples selected to illustrate this 
point would make it apparent, even without 
comment, that the piety, rectitude, and sim- 
plicity of a Christian, though unlettered parent, 
whose sole object is to implant seeds of good- 
ness in her child, may produce nobler and 
more estimable characters than Mothers of the 
most brilliant talents, or the most profound 
learning, whose efforts are not based upon 
moral and religious duties : because, worldly 
acquirements, though perhaps encouraged by 
both, would by the one be considered of 
more importance than sound principles, 
while the other would justly deem every thing 
worthless in the comparison with virtue and 
religion. 

It may be said, and with reason, that no 
learning derived from others, could have in- 
creased the innate genius of those great 
examples of mental superiority about to be 



66 OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE TO 

adduced. This is indeed true, and willingly is 
it admitted that they could scarcely have been 
greater as regards science or literature ; but let 
not the point contended for be forgotten, that 
without those early precepts of religious duty 
and practical morality, derived from Mothers 
who glory in their christian calling (however 
deficient in scholastic attainments,) the talents 
thus rightly guided in the child, might in the 
future philosopher have been used in dissemi- 
nating the most baneful principles, tending to 
the destruction rather than to the benefit of 
mankind. 

The brilliant names which have been given 
from this source to science and literature attest 
the truth of that well-known axiom, that most 
of the christian graces which adorn society 
spring from the Mother's care. The mass of 
mankind are little aware how early that most 
important part of education may be begun, 



THE MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. 67 

which tends to regulate the feelings, and to 
govern the understanding. If then children so 
speedily receive, and indelibly retain their first 
impressions, of what vast importance must it be 
to their future career, that discretion should 
be united to maternal love; and that parents 
should strive to discern the bent of infant 
genius. 

Tenderness, forbearance, and a Mother's af- 
fection, joined to keen observation of character, 
will more effectually produce good results, than 
the overstrained labours of matured intellect, 
or the anxious pride of a merely learned parent. 
To quote the language of one of the ablest 
and most elegant writers of the present age,^ 
" There is this remarkable in the strong affec- 
tions of the Mother, in the formation of the 
literary character, that without even partaking 
of, or sympathizing with the pleasures the child 

' D'Israeli, on the Literary Character. 



68 OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE TO 

is fond of, the Mother will often cherish those 
first decided tastes merely from the delight of 
promoting the happiness of her son; so that 
that genius which some would produce in a 
preconceived system, or implant by stratagem, 
or enforce by application, with her may be only 
the watchful labour of love." 

The difficulty attending this division of the 
subject arises, not so much from want of ex- 
amples to illustrate it, but rather from the diffi- 
culty of selecting the most striking out of the 
number that present themselves. 

The brevity of an essay precluding too elabo- 
rate a detail, it may perhaps suffice, and best 
exemplify the Obligations of Literature to the 
maternal character, if we select one memorable 
instance from those philosophers, who in their 
several departments have pre-eminently bene- 
fited the world. 

The age of chivalry, as we have already seen. 



TUB MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. 69 

succeeded to that which was immortalized by 
the introduction of Christianity ; and was im- 
mediately followed by what may be termed the 
age of science, which in more enlightened days 
became purified from the errors and extrava- 
gancies of ruder times. 

Science dawned but feebly in Europe before 
the invention of printing, but from that period 
it rapidly rose. It is from this epoch then that 
we shall select our present examples. 

Sir Isaac Newton, the great, the learned, and 
the good, who followed in the track of his illus- 
trious predecessor, Sir Francis Bacon, styled 
by Walpole, " the prophet of arts which Newton 
was afterwards to reveal," was indebted to ma- 
ternal solicitude, for the development of that 
genius, which has never since been surpassed 
nor ever equalled. 

Unlike Bacon, however, the immortal Newton 
had no illustrious father to pave the way for his 



70 OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE TO 

son's celebrity, he had no learned and accom- 
plished Mother to direct his infant mind to 
principles of science at the time when it was 
most susceptible of imbibing them. He knew 
not the blessing even of a father's encourage- 
ment, for it was the fate of this great philo- 
sopher to be a posthumous child, and so 
sickly and diminutive was he at his birth, 
that little hope was entertained of preserving 
his life. 

But Newton, though not blessed with learned 
parents, possessed a devout and christian Mo- 
ther, whose sole aim and study was to sow the 
seeds of piety and virtue in his mind, and whose 
tender care preserved to us, under God's bles- 
sing, one-destined to be the glory of his coun- 
try and his race. 

Sir Isaac Newton was born in 1642, and 
about the time he attained his fourth year his 
mother married, secondly, a clergyman; but 



THE MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. 71 

she did not suffer this new alliance to interfere 
with her duties to her son. 

When the watchful solicitude of parental love 
had strengthened his feeble constitution, and 
her judicious instruction had invigorated the 
dawning powers of his intellect, she sent him 
to school to be taught the classics ; but having 
given him such few scholastic advantages as she 
considered sufficient for the inheritor of a small 
patrimony, she again withdrew him to his home 
to be initiated into the management of a farm, 
that like his ancestors he might be devoted to a 
country life. But, for the retirement thus af- 
forded — a retirement so suited to foster the re- 
flective powers of his expanding mind, — Newton 
perhaps had never been led to those contem- 
plative habits which afterwards produced his 
immortal theory of universal gravitation ; for 
though, at the instance of his uncle, he had been 
previously removed to Cambridge for mathema- 



72 OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE TO 

tical instruction, yet the predisposition of the 
young philosopher for metaphysics was en- 
couraged, if not originally induced, by that 
previous retirement^ which was almost forced 
upon him by the prudence and the affection of 
his anxious parent. 

Great indeed are the Obligations of Litera- 
ture to the Mother whose untiring watchfulness 
in infancy preserved the life of so great a man, 
and whose gentle sway allowed him in childhood 
perfect freedom of thought and action, save in 
the one point peculiarly apportioned to a Mo- 
ther's care — the task of inculcating the truths 
of our holy religion — a task never more beau- 
tifully illustrated by its result ; for Sir Isaac 

^ ** Being obliged to leave the University on account of the 
plague, he conceived the idea of the system of gravitation by 
seeing an apple fall from a tree in his garden. Thus, from the 
most simple occurrence his penetrating mind was enabled to 
trace the principle which keeps the planets in motion, and 
preserves the universe in order."— Watkins's Universal Biog. 



THE MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. 73 

Newton was not only a philosopher but a Chris- 
tian, and spent much of his time in elucidating 
the sacred Scriptures ; nor could any thing dis- 
compose his mind so much as light and irreve- 
rent expressions on the subject of religion.^ 

Haller, in his forcible language, tells us, "that 
a little philosophy leads to atheism ; a great 
deal brings back the mind to religion," and he 
instances Newton as a bright example of those 
great men who " in proportion as they explored 
with success the mysteries of creation, felt their 
breasts warmed with devotion to its great 
Author and Governor. "^ 

John Lord Somers, is another and an emi- 
nent instance of the fruits of female influence 
in early years. He was educated by his aunt, 
who having no children of her own, adopted 

' Thomson's History of the Royal Society. 
^ Haller's Letters to his daughter on the Truths of the 
Christian Religion. 

E 



74 OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE TO 

him from his birth, and brought him up in 
her own house, till he went to the University. 
He, too, was a weakly boy,^ and the peculiar 
sensibility attendant upon feeble constitutions 
rendered him feelingly alive to the affection of 
his gentle preceptress, and through that source, 
particularly susceptible also, it may be assumed, 
of those seeds of goodness which she strove to 
implant in his heart.^ Somers eventually be- 
came Lord High Chancellor of England ; and 
was pronounced by Bishop Burnet " the great- 
est man he had ever known in that post, and 
very learned also in divinity, philosophy, and 
history." 

Cardinal Pole, wrho pre-eminently deserves 

' Seward's Anecdotes, vol. ii. p. 114. 

2 " He had a great capacity for business, with an extraor- 
dinary temper ; for he was fair and gentle, perhaps to a fault 
considering his post. So that he had all the patience and 
softness, as well as the justice and equity, becoming a great 
magistrate." — Burnet's Own Times, vol. iv. p. 156. 



THE MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. /5 

to be noticed in this section, from his having 
assisted in laying the foundation of polite lite- 
rature by the revival of letters in England, and 
who vras renowned no less in the scholastic, 
than in the political, and ecclesiastical world, 
was solely educated in early years by his illus- 
trious mother Margaret, Countess of Salis- 
bury ; who was anxious that he should realize 
the hopes she conceived of him from the pre- 
cocious abilities he had displayed.^ 

By Sir Thomas More he was styled "the 
ornament and delight of his country," — "a 
youth as learned, as he is noble, and as virtu- 
ous as learned."^ Erasmus also bears testi- 
mony to his great acquirements, which are 

* " He seconded her views so well, that having drawn on 
himself the attention of the times in which he lived, and been 
the object of their love and admiration, his character has 
stood the test of the two following ages, and is still fresh and 
unsullied." — Phillips' Life of Pole, p, 4. 

* More's Life of More, p. 92. 

E 2 



76 OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE TO 

indeed commemorated by the chief writers of 
the day, both in his own country and on the 
Continent; yet in him so beautifully were 
simplicity of mind and manner, joined to 
elevation of genius and consummate knowledge, 
that he was distinguished throughout Europe 
as the " Modest and learned Cardinal." 

John Wesley, the opposite indeed in religi- 
ous belief to Cardinal Pole, but equally con- 
spicuous for his Christian virtues, great humi- 
lity, and vigorous mind, was born in 1703. To 
his Mother, a woman of energetic character, 
and singularly active habits, he acknowledged 
himself indebted for his early tuition;^ and 
he loved to express his obligations to her for 
that strong religious fervour, — that untiring 
zeal in spiritual pursuits, — and above all, for 
the rudiments of industry, perseverance, and 

* Soulhey's Life of the Rev. J. Wesley. 



THE MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. 77 

self-denial, which have contributed so mate- 
rially to his celebrity. 1 

The name of Wesley naturally leads to that 
of his follower and advocate, Dr. Adam Clarke, 
proverbially eminent among modem scholars, 
and one of the most erudite of biblical anti- 
quaries. His elaborate works need no enco- 
mium here ; and as regards the piety and devo- 
tion of his life, and the well-directed use of his 
talents, his own words will more effectually 
illustrate the particular object of this division 
of the subject than any extract, however copi- 
ous, that could have been selected from the 
pen of his biographer. " My mother's reproofs 
never left me," said he, "till I sought and 
found the salvation of God. She taught me 
such reverence for the Bible, that if I had it in 
my hand even for the purpose of studying a 

' He was the founder of that celebrated sect by which his 
name is perpetuated. 



78 OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE TO 

chapter in order to say it as a lesson, and had 
been disposed with my class-fellows to sing, 
whistle a tune, or be facetious, I dared not do 
either while the book was open in my hands. 
In such cases I always shut it, and laid it down 
beside me. Who will dare to lay this to the 
charge of superstition ?" 

David Hume, the historian ; and the philo- 
sopher Adam Smith ; two of the most remark- 
able men which adorn the page of English 
literature, were eminent also for shedding 
lustre by their celebrity on the names of 
widowed and exemplary mothers. 

Adam Smith was a posthumous child, and 
of so puny a frame that the tenderest and 
most watchful maternal care was requisite for 
the preservation of his life. Great as was 
his reputation,! his mother's sweetest reward 
was the testimony which the philosopher him- 
^ Dugald Stewart's Memoirs of Dr. Adam Smith, 



I 



THE MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. 79 

self bore to the benefit of her early instruc- 
tions. 

The widowed mother of Hume was, as we learn 
from his own pen, "a woman of singular merit, 
who devoted herself entirely to rearing and 
educating her children."^ She bestowed on 
him religious instruction/ and his literary fame 
fully justified her anticipations of future cele- 
brity ; but his talents were, alas ! corrupted in 
their Christian tendency by the canker-worm 
of infidelity and philosophical scepticism. 

English literature produced few more strik- 
ing instances of great talent, united to the most 
inflexible virtue, than that of Dr. Johnson. 
The genius indeed, which excited such admira- 
tion must be considered innate, for it was 
independent of ordinary instruction; but the 
rectitude and probity for which he was fully 
as eminent, was the result of his Mother's reli- 

2 Hume—" My Own Life," p. 1. ^ Silliman's Travels. 



80 OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE TO 

gious precepts, and the effect of her moral 
influence over him. 

His father's eccentricities are well known, 
and equally so is the poverty that clouded 
Johnson's prospects at his decease. There is 
something therefore singularly touching, after 
reading his eulogium on his Mother, and the 
simple account he gives of the vivid impression 
made on his infantine imagination by her first 
fixing his mind on heaven, as prepared for the 
good, and of endless torment as allotted to the 
wicked, to find him when that Mother too 
had departed, writing "Rasselas" to defray 
the expences of her funeral, — that beautiful 
work, expressive of the unsatisfactory nature of 
things temporal, and directing the hopes of 
man to things eternal.i 

His reverential love for her never abated, — 
and deeply was he affected at her loss. During 

' See Appendix V. 



THE MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. 81 

her life he contributed to her support, and he 
hallowed her death by an act of filial piety, 
which illustrates, far beyond words, the influence 
a virtuous Mother may obtain over a gifted 
son, and forcibly exemplifies the blessings 
which result from pious care, and fixed prin- 
ciples, early exercised on the dawning powers 
of genius and talent, 

Edmund Burke, as a pohtical philosopher, a 
scholar, a writer, and an orator, has never been 
surpassed : yet his fame had its basis in a Mo- 
ther's tender care. Fragile and sickly in child- 
hood, he received the rudiments of education at 
home ; his mental and bodily strength progressed 
under the watchfulness of maternal anxiety. His 
Mother, from his nurse became his instructress, 
— books soon constituted his greatest enjoy- 
ment, — by her he was taught to read them, 
and by her he was encouraged in that devotion 
to study, which displayed itself in his childish 
E 5 



82 



OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE TO 



years, and which influenced so materially his 
brilliant career.^ 

The beautiful effusions of Cowper, and his 
exquisite poem at the sight of his Mother's 
picture, above forty years after her death, are 
well known; and it cannot be necessary to 
point out the effects of her parental instruc- 
tion, when that loved Mother's decease, at the 
poet's early age of six years, contributed to 
tinge with sadness his after career, and left so 
indelible an impression as never to have been 
wholly eradicated, — 

" the record fair 
That mem'ry keeps of all thy kindness there, 
Still outlives many a storm that has effac'd 
A thousand other themes less deeply traced." 



It may not, however, be so generally known 
that the Poet Gray, whose touching strains are 
engraved on the memory of both youth and 

^ Prior's Life of Burke. 



THE MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. 83 

age, was more than commonly indebted to 
maternal affection. By the promptitude and 
resolution of his Mother, under circumstances 
of sudden and dangerous illness, his life was 
saved in childhood :^ by earnest and stimulating 
encouragement she developed his rare talents 
in boyhood : and by personal self-denial after- 
wards afforded him, from her own private 
resources those advantages at Eton, which pro- 
cured for him the character, at a very brilliant 
period of literature, of '* the most learned man 
in Europe." 

His gratitude to his devoted parent is forci- 
bly and beautifully expressed in his published 
letters. He never mentioned her but with a 
sigh; and, like Sir Francis Bacon, his last 
request was to be buried by her side in that 
churchyard,^ which his elegy has ever hallowed 
by its associations. 
* See Appendix W. ^ Stoke Pogis Church, Bucks. 



84 OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE TO 

The number of poets, indeed, whose laurels 
have been gained chiefly through the medium, 
of a Mother's love, or who display in their 
writings the lasting effect produced in early 
youth by instructions simple in themselves, 
but important in their results, — because founded 
on truth, consistency, and genuine affection, 
are so great, that were they all adduced, it 
would convert this section into a mere cata- 
logue of our most distinguished native bards. 

The fact, however, illustrates most forcibly 
the indirect control through life which maternal 
discipline exercises over the vivid imagination 
of genius, and exemplifies in the most touching 
manner the actual power which may be obtained 
over the human heart (even when unaccom- 
panied by intellectual advantages), when purity 
of motive and consistency of conduct induce 
in childhood unbounded confidence, firm trust,. 
and implicit faith. 



THE MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. 85 

Pope, in his Universal Prayer, seems to 
express the nature of those unfading impres- 
sions made in early childhood ; and he ^vas 
himself a striking instance of the enduring 
effect of maternal influence. From his birth, of 
a constitution feeble and delicate, his sense of 
obligation to his Mother, and his gentle obe- 
dience, and deference to her as such, shone in 
bright relief through the irritability that shaded 
his peculiarly eccentric career; and his over- 
whelming grief at her death, though advanced 
to the great age of ninety-three, fully justifies 
that beautiful apostrophe of Dr. Johnson to 
him, that "Life has among its soothing and 
quiet comforts few things better to give than 
such a son."^ 

Thomson, whose ^' Seasons " occur intuitively 
to every reflective mind in spring and autumn 
rambles, was left by his father, at an early age, 

* Johnson's Lives of the Poets, vol. iv. p. 90. 



86 OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE TO 

the eldest of nine children, to the " sole care of 
his mother." 

Shenstone's precocious fondness for reading 
was so great, that to satisfy his craving for a 
fresh supply of books, his Mother often wrapped 
up a piece of wood in the shape of a book, and 
put it under his pillow to induce sleep for the 
night, and gain time to supply the little stu- 
dent's demands for the morrow. What love 
but a Mother's would have sought in such 
an expedient the repose due to over-wrought 
mental powers ? 

The influence which the Mother of Robert 
Burns early acquired and always maintained 
over her son is well known. His poetic genius 
was first called into exercise by the ballads and 
songs which she sung with peculiar pathos 
and feeling, and in his farther progress his 
Mother was still his instructress. To the purity 
of her religious exhortations, and the strict 



THE MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. 87 

fulfilment of her social duties/ may be traced 
the most touching of those effusions which 
shed such lustre on the name of the author 
of the " Cotter's Saturday Night." 

Sir William Jones, the accomplished Oriental 
scholar, owed to his widowed parent that care- 
ful education which laid the foundation of his 
undying fame. Her vigorous understanding 
had pre-eminently qualified her for the task, 
and induced her insensibly, and from the first 
dawn of infant intelligence, to direct the mind 
of her child to habits of reflection. She early 
addressed herself to his understanding, and 

' " She loved a well regulated household, and it was fre- 
quently her pleasure to give wings to the weary hours of a 
chequered life by chaunting old songs and ballads, of which 
she had a large store. Her religious feeling was deep and 
constant, and she was blessed with singular equanimity of 
temper. She lived to a great age, rejoicing in the fame of the 
poet, and partaking of the fruits of his genius." — Allan Cun- 
ningham's Life of Burns, p. 3. 



88 OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE TO 

always directed his inquiring spirit to useful 
objects. To the observation of his Mother's 
axiom, " Read and you will know," Sir William 
Jones always acknowledged himself indebted 
for his rare attainments ; and rare indeed they 
were, for he was master of twenty-eight lan- 
guages, an elegant poet, a distinguished natu- 
ralist, and an excellent mathematician ; but his 
greatest praise lies in the direction of his talents, 
which were devoted to public utility and wholly 
subservient to religion.* 

The name of the benevolent Wilberforce is 
intimately connected with maternal care and 
solicitude, whether arising from his peculiarly 
feeble frame in childhood, or the early age at 
which he was deprived of a father's protection. 
From his Mother he inherited many rich 
mental endowments, and to her firmness and 
decision in boyhood, his country owe his con- 
' See Appendix X. 



THE MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. 89 

nection with politics, and that useful career in 
pubhc life which has caused him to be num- 
bered amongst her most eminent philanthro- 
pists.^ 

The Essays of Charles Lamb abound in the 
most touching allusions to the sweets and bles- 
sings of home ; while his letters attest, in beau- 
tiful language, the all-powerful effect of a 
Mother's love, portrayed in the gratitude which 
he expresses to the parent whom he has so 
warmly and affectionately eulogised.^ 

Endless- indeed are the instances in which 
rare and singular talents have been developed 
and promoted by maternal love — innumerable 
the examples that might be adduced to prove, 
in this particular point alone, how much the 
" Mothers of England " have done for their 
offspring, by the exercise of an influence the 

* Life of Wilberforce by his Sons, p. 7. 

^ Talford's Life and Letters of Charles Lamb, 



90 OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE TG 

purest and strongest perhaps which bind the 
heart of man to earthly J;ies. 

How forcibly does Sir Henry Wotton,^ 
the champion of Protestantism under per- 
secution, portray the solidity of that Mother's 
well-directed instruction, who, as stated by his 
biographer, the good old Isaak Walton, under- 
took to be "tutoress unto him during much 
of his childhood!" 2 

How strikingly does the upright, exemplary, 
and devout Bishop Sandford, illustrate through 
a blameless life, the effect of a widowed parent's 
confidence in her children's honour and truth 
even in childhood, nay in very infancy ! ^ 

Who can peruse the "Remains of Henry 
Kirke White," the touching poet — the young 

^ See Appendix Y. 

^ '* For whose cave and pains he paid her each day with such 
visible signs of future perfection in learning, as turned her 
employment into a pleasing trouble." — Isaak Walton, 
3 See Appendix Z, 



THE MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. 91 

humble Christian ripe for eternity, — without 
feeling his heart overflow with sympathy and 
admiration at the self-denial, the privation 
endured in secret by his Mother to aid the 
poet's ^'mounting spirit" — to soothe her son's 
wretchedness at "hope deferred," and to pre- 
vent that genius, which was alike her pride 
and her joy, from being withered by servile 
occupations, and the misery of a hateful em- 
ployment ; ^ but, as above stated, instances of 
a corresponding nature in Mothers are end- 
less, — examples in their sons innumerable ! 

Sir Walter Scott is among the latest and 
most distinguished instances of the efiect of 
female education ; and with his testimony 
of the enduring efiect of maternal influence, 
this division of the subject must close. In 
naming this extraordinary man, we name 
the brightest ornament of the present age of 

^ See Appendix A A. 



92 OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE TO 

literature — one who was deservedly the pride 
of his country, nay of Europe ; who stands 
unrivalled, not merely for the number of his 
works, and for the untiring interest which at- 
taches to them, but for never having written 
a line which did not strengthen virtue, in- 
spire patriotism, and inculcate religion and 
morality. 

By his historical and metrical romances, Sir 
Walter Scott revived, as it were, the ancient 
spirit of chivalry, modified by the knowledge 
and learning peculiar to the age in which he 
flourished. And it was to his Mother that this 
great man owed his early tuition ; for though, 
as stated in his autobiography, he was indebted 
to his aunt for the rudiments of learning, 
and to his grandmother for that fund of le- 
gendary lore, which, fixed irrevocably in his 
infant mind, clung to him like a charmed gift, 
even in his declining years, — ^yet by his Mother 



THE MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. 93 

was he imbued with his youthful taste for 
imaginative composition, and stimulated to 
exercise his poetical ardour. Of delicate tem- 
perament, and feeble constitution, he pecu- 
liarly needed the watchfulness of maternal 
tenderness in childhood ; and to the judicious 
care of his excellent parent in more advanced 
years, and the benefit he derived from her 
highly cultivated mind and superior under- 
standing, his literary fame may be attributed. 

Sir Walter Scott, whose domestic virtues 
were not surpassed even by his incomparable 
talents, thoroughly appreciated the value of his 
Mother's instructions. He loved to acknow- 
ledge her worth, to dilate on her affection, 
and to award the meed of filial gratitude for 
her well-directed efforts in boyhood: and his 
name — a great and noble name — adds another 
powerful example, and will most fitly ter- 
minate the instances selected for illustrating 



94 OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE TO 

from the pages of science, the Obligations of 
Literature to maternal care and solicitude. 



IV. — The fourth and last point proposed 
for consideration is that of the Obligations of 
Learning generally, to the able productions 
of erudite women, for that high tone of 
feeling, moral and religious, which charac- 
terises the compositions of the Matrons of 
England; we say Matrons, because, agree- 
able to the avowed purport of this Essay, none 
but such are admissible on its pages. But, in 
justice to many early writers, of whom little 
remains on record beyond their names as 
wives, and their erudition as women ; and 
others, of more recent times, who, though not 
themselves parents, have been the chosen 
instruments, by means of simple, but gifted 
productions, of inculcating upon childhood 



THE MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. 95 

doctrines and duties which not even the 
graver studies of maturity have more effec- 
tually promoted, v^^e feel it due to them — 
metaphorically the Mothers of thousands, — 
not to limit the "Obligations of Literature" 
to the Mothers of a single household; but 
in this concluding portion, to consider the 
subject, as we did in the first division, in a 
wider and more enlarged form, — one suited 
to the importance of the theme, and justified 
by the strength it affords to the truths here 
sought to be established. 

Consideration has been given to the Mothers 
of England, who first made the name of Christ 
to be known and hallowed in this land ; — 
attention has been directed to those British 
Matrons, who, by their domestic virtues, and 
by their scholastic and religious foundations, 
preserved from total destruction, in a dark and 
savage period, those faint embers of literature 



96 OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE TO 

which for ages were sacrificed in this island 
to deeds of arms, and the acquisition of mar- 
tial accomplishments; — and due honour has 
been shewn to those noble women, who aided 
their sons towards filling the highest offices 
of the state, and whose maternal watchfulness 
in infancy, and judgment in riper years, pre- 
served for the admiration of posterity, some 
of the greatest names that enrich our scientific 
annals. 

It now remains only to speak of those who 
may be termed " Mothers of England," in the 
widest and most comprehensive sense of the word 
— ^who have nevertheless well earned the appel- 
lation, by having devoted their talents to the in- 
struction of the children of Britain, and by hav- 
ing brought the leading doctrines of their faith 
within the compass of their understandings; 
enforcing also, under the most pleasing forms, 
the value and beauty of industry, patience. 



THE MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. 97 

and docility — of every virtue, in fact, which 
all must desire to see practised by youth, and 
respected in manhood. 

Few can attest more truly the value of 
talents thus devoted, than those who are, in 
its literal sense, parents, and to whom is en- 
trusted, as a holy charge, beings destined for 
eternity. 

The abundance of works, religious, moral, 
and scientific, adapted to all ages and all 
stations, the efforts of those who have con- 
descended to devote high talents to so praise- 
worthy an object, as sowing the seeds perhaps 
of future eminence in many a wayward, but 
gifted child, is a sufficient sanction for adopt- 
ing towards accomplished British Matrons, 
that epithet which as " nursing Mothers," ^ the 

* Kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their Queens thy 
nursing mothers." — Isaiah xlix. v. 23. 

F 



dS OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE TO 

Scriptures award to Queens, to whom is com- 
mitted the fate of nations. 

Literature, then, is justly bound in gra- 
titude to style "Mothers of England," those 
who have dignified the age in which they 
flourished by the wisdom, beauty, and ex- 
cellence of works that have long survived 
their writers, and procured for them an im- 
perishable name ; and also those who have 
entailed transcendent blessings on posterity, as 
the guides and instructors in religion and 
virtue, of future philosophers, scholars, states- 
men, and divines. 

But if it were difficult to compress within 
these narrow limits, the numerous examples 
of scientific and learned men whom maternal 
influence and watchful affection have con- 
tributed to elevate to the highest pinnacle 
of renown, — how far more complicated is the 
task of selecting from the list of erudite 



THE MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. 99 

Matrons, even the most noted of those who 
adorn their native land. 

As, in the former case, we were compelled 
to limit our illustration to one distinguished 
scholar only, in some particular branch of 
science or knowledge, so in the present in- 
stance we must have recourse to an arrange- 
ment equally brief and imperfect; and pos- 
sibly we can decide on none more impartial, 
or more honourable to the Mothers of Eng- 
land as a body, than simply to notice under 
each reign, those whose compositions (in 
accordance with the age in which they flou- 
rished) were deservedly esteemed, and most 
conduced towards the improvement or benefit 
of their contemporaries. 

Learning, in women, like the pursuit of 

science in men, was mainly the result of the 

invaluable discovery of printing. The study 

of letters was, to the former, a thing by com- 

F 2 



100 OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE TO 

parison unknown, during the chivalric period 
which preceded that all-powerful invention; 
though the respect in which the fair sex was 
then held, nay, almost worshipped as beings of 
a superior order — as prodigies of beauty, or 
miracles of virtue, — gave birth to those innu- 
merable compositions in prose and verse, 
which, under the title of Sonnet, Lay, metrical 
Romance, and allegorical Pastoral, comprise 
the chief efforts of native genius during the 
middle ages. 

But the fostering hand of Margaret of Bur- 
gundy,! sister of King Edward the Fourth, and 

' It was while in the service of this Princess in Flanders, 
that Caxton learned the art of printing, then recently dis- 
covered. On her marriage with Charles the Bold, Duke of 
Burgundy, Caxton was appointed to a situation in the house- 
hold of the Lady Margaret, but in what capacity, or with 
what salary, is not known. He seems, however, to have been 
on familiar terms with the Duchess, and he informs us that 
he occupied his leisure in several works, which she encouraged 



THE MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. 101 

the liberality and protecting influence of Mar- 
garet of Lancaster, ancestress of the present 
Royal family of England, gave to the newly 
invented art, a degree of importance, and 
kindled a spirit of emulation in the unlettered 
female which in the next generation, amounted 
to a positive passion. Consequently, we find no 
period in the entire range of British literature, 
nor even in that of Europe, so rich in learned 
women, as that of the Tudor dynasty. ^ 

Chivalry had left behind it a romantic and 
daring spirit, that not only influenced the 
writings of the time, but imbued the gentler 
sex with an energy and loftiness of character 

him to complete ; and that " the Duchess rewarded him 
liberally for his labour." —Life of Caxton, p. 23. 

^ Dr. Wotton, in his Reflections on Ancient and Modern 
Learning, says, "There are no accounts in history of so 
many great and learned women in any one age, as are to 
be found between the years fifteen and sixteen hundred,'' 
p. 349. 



102 OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE TO 

that induced a desire of perusing the classic 
works of the ancients in the original languages, 
and of studying, in all their purity, the compo- 
sitions of the holy fathers of the church ; thus 
rivalling by their scholastic and theological 
knowledge, the most learned productions of 
Greece or Rome. 

The mother of King Henry the Seventh,^ 
the founder of the Tudor line, first encouraged 
(as has been already observed) this love of 
letters in the ladies of her son's court 

The virtues of this illustrious princess were 
worthy the lineal descendant of Eleanor of 
Castille, and Philippa of Hainault. She 
flourished towards the close of the fifteenth 
century, and heads the list of the learned 

^ Margaret Beaufort, mother of King Henry the Seventh, 
through whose descent from the house of Lancaster, that 
monarch founded his pretension to the throne, was the 
great-grand- daughter of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, 
fourth son of King Edward the Third. 



THE MOTHERS OF EXGLAXD. 103 

Mothers of England, her literary productions 
being among the earliest and most valuable 
specimens extant of English typography. 

Katherine of Arragon,i and Katherine Parr/- 
the first and last of her grandson's ill-fated 
Queens, are admirable instances of the 
powers of the female mind, when fully de- 
veloped by education, and regulated by 
severe and early discipline. 

During the reign of King Henry the Eighth, 
the accomplished daughters of Sir Thomas More 
astonished all Europe by their profound erudi- 
tion ; ^ especially Margaret Roper, the eldest, 
who corresponded in Latin with Erasmus ; trans- 
lated Eusebius' Ecclesiastical History from the 
Greek ; and with whom her eminent father, 
the Lord High Chancellor, took counsel in 
his severe trials, entrusting her " with all his 

' See Appendix BB. ^ gee Appendix CC. 

8ee Appendix DD. 



104 OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE TO 

secrets," and writing "to her with a coal" 
during his imprisonment in the Tower, " when 
cruelly deprived of his pen and ink." She 
was perfect mistress of the Greek and Latin 
tongues; and was well acquainted with Phi- 
losophy, Astronomy, Physic, Arithmetic, Logic, 
Rhetoric, and Music. She devoted herself to 
the education of her children, who ranked 
among the most erudite of their time : and 
the benefits conferred on literature by her 
learned compositions at that early period, may 
be gathered from the testimony of the greatest 
scholars, and most able writers of that day,^ 

The eminent daughters of Sir Anthony 
Cooke were equally distinguished for pro- 
found learning. Their Latin epistles, their 
works on philosophy, and their poetical 
effusions, procured for them the appellation of 
the " wonder of their age." 

* Knight's Life of Erasmus^ p. 310. 



THE MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. 105 

Though the eldest, and the second, of these 
accomplished sisters have been particularly 
mentioned in a preceding section, yet in this 
portion, exclusively devoted to the Obliga- 
tions of Learning generally to accomplished 
British Matrons, notice of the gift, by the 
Lady Burleigh to the University Library in 
Cambridge, of the Bible in Hebrew, and four 
other tongues, — accompanied by an epistle in 
Greek, in her own hand, must not be omitted: ^ 
and the value to the early reformers of Lady 
Bacon's translation from the Latin of Bishop 
Jewel's masterly performance "An Apology 
for the Church of England, "^ needs no other 

^ Lady Burleiglx was a great promoter of learning, and 
a liberal benefactor to several colleges in both Universities, 
especially in providing them with rare and valuable books. 
She secretly supported two scholars at St. John's, Cam- 
bridge, making provision at her death for a perpetuity of the 
benefaction. 

2 See Appendix E E. 

F 5 



106 OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE TO 

testimony than a reference to the letters of 
Parker, Archbishop of Canterbury, — no higher 
praise than that contained in his words, 
" that by her travail she expressed an ac- 
ceptable duty to the glory of God — deserved 
well of this church of Christ ; and that he 
should, as occasion m^ht serve, exhort others 
to take profit by her work, and follow her 
example."! 

Lady Jane Grey, the victim of an ambition 
wholly inconsistent with the beautiful sim- 
plicity of her character, needs no panegyric — 
her rare acquirements no detail.^ Sove- 
reign of England for the space of ten days, 
she expiated on the scaffold, the crime of being 
elevated by others to a throne, which she 
ascended with reluctance, and resigned with- 
out regret. 

' Strype's Life of Archbishop Parker, p. 178. 
' See " The Literary Remains of Lady Jane Grey, with a 
Memoir of her Life, by Sir Harris Nicolas." 



THE* MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. 107 

Queen Mary was a learned woman, and an 
elegant writer. At the solicitation of Queen 
Katherine Parr, she undertook the translation 
of Erasmus's Paraphrase on the Gospel of 
St. John, which, by the best judges of that age, 
is said to be admirably performed. ^ In her 
reign flourished the three Seymours, daugh- 
ters of the Lord Protector Somerset, who were 
celebrated for the purity of their Latin verses, 
which were translated and repeated all over 
Europe.^ 

Mary Roper, the grand-daughter of Sir 
Thomas More, and the youngest and favourite 
child of Margaret, his exemplary daughter 
before-named, was designated by Roger As- 
cham "the ornament of Queen Mary's reign." 
She was one of her attendant gentlewomen, 

* Queen Mary's writings may be found in " Foxe's Acts 
and Monuments," — ** Strype's Historical Memorials," — and 
in " Hearne's Sylloge Epistolarium." 

2 Ronsard, Book v. Ode iii. 



108 OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATt/feE TO 

and translated several of her grandfather's 
works from Latin into English, as well as 
many of her mother's that treated on ecclesi- 
astical subjects. Her skill in languages was 
proverbial; for in addition to Hebrew, Greek, 
and Latin, she was mistress of Arabic and 
Chaldee, and also of French and Italian. ^ 

In the reign of Queen Elizabeth, the most 
erudite woman of her age,^ the Matrons of 
England were indeed objects of universal 
respect and admiration. Their virtues were 
severe, their talents unexampled; and for 
classic lore they have never been surpassed 
by any of their sex. As a natural conse- 
quence, their sons were renowned throughout 
Europe, for their profound knowledge in every 
branch of literature ; and of them it may 

^ She married, first to Mr. Stephen Clarke, and afterwards 
to Mr. James Basset. 
2 See Appendix F F. 



THE MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. 109 

justly be said, England boasted of philoso- 
phers who were rendered pre-eminently great 
by the precepts and exhortations of their 
learned Mothers. 

Mary Countess of Arundel, was one of the 
brightest ornaments of this distinguished pe- 
riod. She translated from Greek into Latin 
the precepts of the sages of Greece, — made 
a valuable collection of the choicest portions 
from the books of Plato, Seneca, and Aris- 
totle, — and is well known for her version of the 
wise sayings of Alexander Severus.i 

To Lady Joanna Lumley, daughter of Lord 
Arundel, her contemporaries were indebted 
for a translation from the Greek of many 
celebrated ancient orations,^ and for havins: 

^ The works of this learned lady (who was the wife of 
Henry Howard, Earl of Arundel), are still extant, being 
preserved among the MSS. in the Royal Library at the 
British Museum.— 12 A. III. 12 A. IV. 

^ The Orations of Isocrates, entitled Archidamus, — Evago- 



110 OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE TO 

rendered into English the Iphigenia of Euri- 
pides ; and the learning, accomplishments, and 
virtues of Mary Countess of Pembroke, 

** Sidney's sister — Pembroke's mother" 

herself also a poet, have been immortalized by 
the dedication to her of the "Arcadia," the cele- 
brated romance of her brother, Sir Philip Sid- 
ney, the ornament alike of his age and country. 

With the termination of Queen Elizabeth's 
reign, also terminated the passion (for it can be 
no otherwise designated) for the acquirement 
of the dead languages, and the study of the 
philosophy of the ancients. 

Though somewhat changed in its course, 
learning however still maintained a high place, 
both in the court and in the country generally; 
yet the pedantry which distinguished the 

ras, — and the 2ad, 3rd, and 4th to Nicocles, with that to 
Peace, beautifully written in the handwriting of the Lady 
Lumley, are also preserved in the Royal Library at the 
British Museum. — 15 A. I. and 15 A. IX. 



THE MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. Ill 

writings of King James, — who was as ambitious 
of literary as of regal fame,— speedily gave a 
similar tone to the compositions of his time. 
The devotional spirit and metaphysical views 
in which he loved to indulge, gave a new direc- 
tion to the pursuits of the studious, and gra- 
dually superseded that preference which had 
been long exclusively bestowed on the produc- 
tions of the sages of antiquity. 

In accordance with this newly- awakened 
feeling, the reign of James the First, includes 
among those females, who began about that 
period to make learning subservient to prac- 
tical results, the benevolent Lady Mary Ar- 
myne. Skilled in polemic divinity, and of a 
religious turn of mind, her labours and talents 
were devoted, by the aid of missionaries, to the 
conversion of the idolatrous heathen; and by 
the distribution of books, and discourses of 
her own composition, she diligently pro- 



112 OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE TO 

moted the spiritual benefit of her native 
poor.^ 

Lady Murray, sub-governess of the infant 
progeny of the house of Stuart, was also dis- 
tinguished for great talents, and a high degree 
of feminine excellence: and the extraordinary 
virtues of the highly gifted Lady Harrington, 
to v^^hom v^as entrusted the sole care of the 
Princess Elizabeth,^ King James's only daugh- 
ter, was shewn not merely by the singular 
excellence, and rare accomplishments, of her 
royal pupil, but made still more apparent by 
the beauty of character, which attached to her 
own immediate offspring. ^ 

The reign of Charles the First, notwith- 

1 Gibbon's Memoirs of Pious Women. 

2 See Appendix G G. 

3 For the Life of John Lord Harrington, her only son, 
one of the most extraordinary and estimable characters 
that grace our annals of nobility, see Harrington's Nugae 
Antiquse. 



THE MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. 113 

Standing the troubles of that eventful period, 
could boast of many admirable and accom- 
plished women, whose virtues and devotion 
called forth by the events of their time, shed a 
bright glow over the clouds of discord and strife. 

Lady Pakington, the supposed authoress of 
the celebrated " Whole Duty of Man," and 
other spiritual works ;i and Lady Halkett, 
whose devotional compositions charm by their 
unaffected piety, exemplify the nature of the 
pursuits, for which the British Matrons at this 
date, had exchanged the severer studies of 
classic lore. 

An increasing admiration for the fine arts, 
of which King Charles was a distinguished 
connoisseur and liberal patron, was also one of 
the characteristics of the early part of his reign. 
Lucy, Duchess of Bedford,^ distinguished for 

* See Appendix HH. 

2 She was the daughter of the eminent Lady Harrington, 



114 OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE TO 

learning, wit, and talents, was conspicuous 
above all her contemporaries for befriending 
genius, and for her bounty to distressed artists. 
Drayton, in allusion to this liberality, states 
that 

" She rained upon him her sweet showers of gold." 

But the most astonishing person that flou- 
rished during the Stuart dynasty, was Marga- 
ret, Duchess of Newcastle. She was a poet 
and a dramatist ; and wrote many philoso- 
phical discourses, besides letters, and orations 
of no ordinary merit. She has been described 
as the most voluminous of female dramatic 
writers ; ^ indeed, the extent of her produc- 
tions is almost incredible ; yet, was she equally 
eminent for every feminine virtue that could 
grace and adorn her public and private life, 

just mentioned, — co-heiress of her young and exemplary 
brother, and wife of Edward Earl of Bedford. 
* Jacob's Lives of the Poets, vol. i. 190. 



THE MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. 115 

indefatigable in study, pious, charitable, and 
humane. 

With the unfortunate Charles, was extin- 
guished for a while, that ardour for literature, 
which was at its height during the Elizabethan 
age ; for though the wife^ and daughters of 
Cromwell, were very remarkable women," 
highly educated, and deeply imbued with a 
taste for letters, as indeed were many of their 
female contemporaries, yet the utter ruin of 

^ Oliver Cromwell married the daughter of Sir James 
Bourchier, a woman of an enlarged mind and elevated spirit. 
She educated her children with ability, and governed her 
family with address. — Buncombe's Letters. 

^ Especially the second, Elizabeth Claypole, whose power 
and influence over her father was truly surprising. She 
openly availed herself of it to try and soften his austerity, of 
which her importunate but unsuccessful advocacy in behalf 
of Dr. John Hewit, is a well known and admirable instance. 
In private, she equally presumed on Cromwell's indulgence, 
by secretly doing good offices to the unhappy royalists, and 
striving to relieve the oppressed families of the exiled 
cavaliers. 



116 OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE TO 

ancient families in the disastrous civil wars, — 
the exile of the royalists, — and the fanatic 
spirit which succeeded, are abundant reasons 
why so few learned women flourished during 
the Commonwealth. Of these few, however. 
Lady Fanshawe and Mrs. Hutchinson^ deserve 
to be particularly mentioned ; for their writings 
were of a very high order. 

Lady Fanshawe's Memoir, compiled for the 
use of her only son, contain many remarkable 
anecdotes of the great personages of her time, 
and minutely describe the trials and sufferings 
of the unfortunate monarch whom she and 
her husband, Sir Richard Fanshawe, so faith- 
fully and affectionately served. Perhaps there 

^ Mrs. Lucy Hutchinson addressed to her daughter a 
treatise on the principles of the Christian religion ; and com- 
piled a narrative of the life of her husband, Col. Hutchinson, 
the Governor of Nottingham Castle, with a summary review 
of public affairs, during the very eventful period in which he 
flourished. 



THE MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. 117 

is not, in the English language, a narrative more 
simply or affectingly told, than that portion 
which relates to their final parting with King 
Charles at Hampton Court; genuine piety, 
and firm, devoted loyalty, being mingled 
throughout with that tenderness and pity, 
which is woman's pecuhar attribute, and con- 
stitutes woman's greatest charm. 

Lady Fanshawe's advice to her son, to 
whom she became the sole-sur^dving parent at 
the young age of ten months, might well be 
written in letters of gold, as the rule and 
guide for the Mothers of England, and the 
basis of all that can render the youth of Bri- 
tain great and noble. "Hate idleness, and 
avoid all passions, my most dear and only 
son. Be true in your words and actions. Un- 
necessarily deliver not your opinion; but 
when you do, let it be just, consistent, and 
plain. Be charitable in thought, word, and 



118 OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE TO 

deed, and ever ready to forgive injuries done 
to yourself; and be more pleased to do good 
than to receive good. Be civil and obliging to 
all, dutiful where God and nature command 
you, but a friend to one, — and that friendship 
keep sacred as the greatest tie upon earth; 
and be sure to ground it upon virtue, for no 
other is either happy or lasting. Think it a 
great fault not to improve your time, either for 
the good of your soul, or in the improvement of 
your imderstanding, health, or estate : reserve 
some hours daily to examine yourself, and 
think what will be your portion in heaven, as 
well as what you may desire upon earth. 
Manage your fortune prudently, and forget 
not that you must give God an account here- 
after, and upon all occasions 1" 

The restoration of the monarchy in the person 
of Charles the Second, though it contributed to 
the revival of learning, and the encouragement 



THE MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. 119 

of the fine arts, failed however in restoring letters 
to that dignified position which they had 
maintained up to the period of his father's 
untimely death. 

Devotional fervour was succeeded by ex- 
treme levity, both of thought and conduct ; 
frivolous literature usurped the place of graver 
studies ; and piety and morality had little part 
in those works of genius for which the reign 
of Charles the Second was conspicuous. 

Yet never were the ladies of Britain more 
accomplished than at this epoch ; and though 
many by their writings disgraced those bril- 
liant talents which had been bestowed upon 
them for a better purpose, still there are not 
wanting, after the Restoration, amongst the 
" Mothers of England," names whose works 
elevate the character of the sex ; — whose 
principles and irreproachable conduct gave an 
effectual check to the prevalent vice and folly 



120 OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE TO 

of the age ; — and who have thus high claim to 
a place in the list of British women who have 
rendered important services to Literature. 

Among them the Countess of Abingdon, 
Drjden's " Eleonora" and her sister, the Mar- 
chioness of Wharton, are eminent examples. 
Lady Wharton was a poet and a dramatic 
writer; and her lyrical taste was held in high 
estimation by contemporary writers. The poet 
Waller's two cantos of Divine Poesy, were 
occasioned upon sight of her Paraphrase on the 
Fifty-second Chapter of Isaiah. 

Katherine Phillips, the " matchless Orinda," 
began to exercise her poetical talents very 
early in life, and by her translation of Corneille's 
plays, and other of the best productions of 
the French poets into English, she made the 
youth of this country acquainted with the rare 
merits of these admirable compositions.^ 

Susannah, the exemplary wife of Richard 
' See Appendix I I. 



THE MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. 121 

Hopton, one of the Welsh judges, — of whom it 
was said by an eminent divine, "among the 
many and most serious good wishes I have for 
the Church of England, this is, and always 
shall be one, that all her sons and daughters 
were such"^ — was distinguished for many 
valuable works on serious subjects:^ and the 
writings of the Duchess of York,^ the mother 
of the Princesses Mary and Anne, (afterwards 
Queens of England,) redeem in some measure 

' Dr. Geo. Hickes, Dean of Worcester, author of Con- 
troversial Letters, &c. 

2 Chiefly for one, entitled "Daily Devotions," published 
anonymously : afterwards reprinted and generally received as 
the performance of a late Rev. Divine of the Church of 
England. The error was refuted by the friend and executor 
of Mrs. Hopton (Dr. Hickes), in his second vol. of "Con- 
troversial Letters." See Ballard, 272. 

^ Anne Hyde, the accomplished daughter of Edward 
Earl of Clarendon, Lord High Chancellor during the reign 
of King Charles the Second. She died before the Duke of 
York ascended the throne : — four out of eight children sur- 
vived her. — Burnet's Own Times, vol. i. p. 247. 
G 



122 OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE TO 

that laxity of morals and disregard of religion, 
which degraded the character of the court of 
Charles the Second. 

James the Second, his brother, reigned too 
short a time to enable any precise character to 
be applied to the female productions of his 
reign. Nevertheless, the devout works of 
Mrs. Elizabeth Bury, the friend of Dr. Watts ; 
the grave and pious writings of Mrs. Elizabeth 
Rowe/ "the Philomela" of Prior; the 
poems of Anne, Countess of Winchelsea,^ 
so eulogised by Pope ; and the inimitable 
letters of Lady Rachel Russell,^ the incom- 

^ Her work, entitled " Friendship in Death," or letters 
from the Dead to the living, written on the occasion of her 
husband's decease, have been translated into several foreign 
languages, and with her '* Letters Moral and Entertaining/' 
have been very widely circulated. 

^ Maid of honour to the Queen of James the Second, and 
afterwards married to Heneage, Earl of Winchelsea. 

' See Appendix K K. 



THE MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. 123 

parable and devoted wife, the exemplary 
parent — the pattern of all that is excellent in 
the female character, bespeak a feeling of 
purity, dignity, and upright principle, alto- 
gether opposed to the style of literature in 
the previous reign. 

The ascendancy of protestantism, on the 
accession of William and Mary,^ contributed 
once more to the study of works on divinity 
and theological controversy. Of these few, 
none were more popular than the writings of 
Mrs. Elizabeth Burnett,^ wife of Gilbert, Lord 
Bishop of Salisbury ; nor any more celebrated 
than those of Lady Masham,^ the friend of 
Locke, and the correspondent of " Mary 

* See Appendix L L. ^ See Appendix M M. 

' Damaris Lady Masham, daughter of that erudite Divine, 
Ralph Cudworth, D.D., Hebrew Professor in the University 
of Cambridge. As a testimony of her gratitude to Mr. 
Locke's memory, she drew up the memoir of that remarkable 
man, which is printed in the Great Historical Dictionary. 

g2 



124 OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE TO 

Astell." The Essays of Lady Chudleigh ; the 
works of Lady Norton ; and the poems of her 
daughter, the young and beautiful Lady Grace 
Gethin, whose rare talents and Christian vir- 
tues have been celebrated by the poetical 
genius of Congreve,i form some of the most 
esteemed compositions of that period. 

The reign of Queen Anne was one that 
reflects great honour on the literary females^ 
who flourished at that epoch ; not only from 
the learning, but for the varied attainments 
for which so many of them were remarkable. 

Their writings seem to embody the chief 
excellence of the preceding reign, shorn of 
their exclusiveness or extravagance; graceful, 
elegant, and refined ; pious, without fanaticism, 
and learned without pedantry. The fine arts 
also met with due encouragement. This is 

* Congreve's Miscell. Poems, vol. v. p. 158, 
2 See Appendix N N. 



THE MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. 125 

evident from various musical compositions, and 
many fine paintings, the production of female 
artists ; and the Phylactery executed by Mrs. 
Ehzabeth Bland, the skilful calligraphist and 
eminent Hebrew Scholar, is still considered 
worthy of preservation by the Royal Society.^ 

The merits of Mrs. Catherine Bovey, the 
munificent projector of a College at Bermuda, 
whose time and talents were devoted to in- 
structing poor and friendless children, and 
whose riches were expended in the endowment 
of churches abroad, and the institution of free- 
schools in her own country, deserves parti- 
cular notice amongst the benefactors of liter- 
ature at this epoch : while the poems of Mrs. 
Monk, and the essays and dramatic compo- 
sitions of Mrs. Catherine Cockburn, are a few^ 
out of innumerable instances, of refined taste^ 
and high mental cultivation. 

' See Appendix 0. 



126 OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE TO 

On the demise of Queen Anne, a great 
change took place in the public taste. Though 
many women of powerful abilities, and exten- 
sive learning, lived in the reign of King George 
the First, yet the times were unfavourable to 
literature, as the minds of the people were 
almost entirely occupied by politics and pecu- 
niary speculations. 

The able letters of Lady Mary Wortley 
Montagu, however, shew that wit and vivacity 
did not altogether expire with the house of 
Stuart; and superior talents were also displayed 
by Mrs. Francis Sheridan in her tales and 
comedies : while the extraordinary learning 
of Constantia Grierson,^ exhibited not only 
in her poems, but also in her Latin trans- 
lations, prove the intellectual spirit which pre- 
vailed even under circumstances of depression 
and discouragement. Need we also add that 

* See Appendix P P. 



THE MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. 127 

the object contemplated by this wonderful 
woman, the education of her son, is a strong 
instance of that union of literary zeal with 
maternal solicitude, which so elevates the cha- 
racter of accomplished British Matrons ; espe- 
cially when, as in the present instance, limited 
pecuniary means were an additional stimukis 
to the employment of her talents.^ True, 
indeed, it is — and beautiful is this charac- 
teristic of " the Mothers of England," — that 
fame, the noblest reward of literature, has 
with them ever been subservient to maternal 
pride, maternal forgetfulness of self, and above 
all to maternal affection and duty. 

The historical writings of Mrs. Catherine 
Macauley most fitly exemplify the distinct 

' Her son, scarcely less eminent as a scholar, than his 
learned mother, expired in Germany at precisely the same 
age as the parent to whose devotion he was so largely in- 
debted. Gibber's Lives. 



128 OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE TO 

style of literature which marked the times of 
George the Second, when vigorous, theoretical, 
and new opinions began to be broached, 
and were openly and warmly discussed. 
Strongly imbued with the love of liberty, and 
with an ardent feeling of independence, the 
compositions of Mrs. Macauley bespeak those 
sentiments of political freedom, and that 
deep political bias, which were destined to 
convulse all Europe in the succeeding 
generation. 

There were not however wanting works of a 
more feminine character. Mrs. Chapone's let- 
ters are perused with pleasure and profit, from 
the valuable precepts which they so forcibly 
inculcate; and the novels of Mrs. Sarah 
Fielding, with many hghter productions of a 
high order, captivated the scholar, while they 
interested the ordinary reader. But the great- 
est benefactor to literature in this reign, and 



THE MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. 129 

she whose after influence contributed so mate- 
rially to advance its interests, was Caroline of 
Brandenburgh Anspach, the admirable Queen 
of King George the Second. 

Accounted one of the most learned prin- 
cesses of Europe, she was so estimable in con- 
duct and judicious in purpose, that she was 
nominated Regent by her royal consort, and 
entrusted with the affairs of the kingdom, 
during his Majesty's absence in his German 
dominions. Her chief claim however to notice 
in the present Essay, arises from her patro- 
nage of learning, and from her encouragement 
of the fine arts, her zeal for science, and libe- 
rality to artists and men of genius. 

Queen Caroline set a beautiful example to 
the Mothers of England, by personally 
superintending the education of her children, 
— directing their pursuits, cultivating their 
understandings, and implanting with a taste 
g5 



130 OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE TO 

for letters the firmest principles of religion 
and morality. 

These sentiments shone forth in the ensuing 
reign, which will ever be memorable for the 
virtues of its domestic circle ; but that theme, 
as also the admirable results hence arising, 
cannot here be discussed. 

The blaze of literature which reflected such 
lustre on the reign of George the Thirds and 
that of his sons and successors, is marked by 
such strong and distinct features, that any 
examination, however brief, would extend far 
beyond the limits of this Essay. Suffice it 
then in conclusion to observe, that if the six- 
teenth century was the Augustan age of 
female erudition and classic lore, the nine- 
teenth may be considered as the age of scien- 
tific attainments, and the perfection of learn- 
ing in all its varied and sterling branches. 

Female authors abound, and their composi- 



THE MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. 131 

tions are replete with profitable instruction. 
Works on Religion and Morality, — on History 
and Biography, — on Philosophy and Science ; 
Essays, Travels, and the fine Arts, — with Tales 
of Mirth and Recreation, during the last century 
have proceeded from the pen of so many 
eminent women, that to select a few names 
only, would have been invidious, by seeming 
to lessen the merits of those that remained 
unnoticed. 

It is hoped however that enough has been 
said to prove the " Obligations of Literature to 
the Mothers of England," from the first intro- 
duction of Christianity to the institution of 
chivalry ; and from the era of printing, to that 
bright dawning of science, of which that won- 
derful invention was the harbinger. 

Yet these considerations, although they 
embrace the chief points proposed in this 
Essay, form a very brief portion of the innu- 



132 OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE TO 

merable claims which the women of Great 
Britain, whether as wives or mothers, have on 
learning generally. 

Infant genius, in all its helplessness, excites 
feelings of maternal love and pride, which 
induces peculiar tenderness, when the feeble 
moan of suffering calls forth, in all its energy, 
that sympathy and compassion that none but 
Mothers know; but when infancy, and child^ 
hood, and boyhood are past, there yet remains 
much, very much, which is woman's peculiar 
province. 

A Mother's anxious watchfulness descries, 
before all others, the evil effects of the over- 
wrojight mind of the student; and the gentle 
thoughtfulness of maternal affection, succours 
and revives the bodily frame which without 
such counteracting tenderness, would per- 
haps have consigned to an early grave, — a 
victim to literary zeal — that genius which 



THE MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. 133 

was destined to ornament the age in which it 
flourished. 

Good and wholesome principles — religious 
and moral feelings, inculcated by a fond 
parent, have often checked in the young phi- 
losopher the germ of infidelity, and effectually 
preserved him from the baneful and destruc- 
tive doctrines of the sceptic : thus giving to 
the world, through the mild and effective, 
though unsuspected influence of a beloved 
Mother, a Christian, and a patriot, no 
less than an eminent and accomplished 
scholar. 

Whose imagination indeed can place bounds 
to the patient tenderness of woman's love ! 
or adequately describe the part she is called 
upon to sustain through life, in all its stages, 
and in all its varied scenes ! 

The senator and the statesman, worn and 
exhausted by political difficulties, and by 



134 OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE TO 

anxieties that must not be disclosed, because on 
them perchance may hang the fate of empires, 
is revived, solaced, and invigorated, not 
only by the cheerfulness that soothes, and 
the affection which lightens, but also by 
that discretion which seeks not to penetrate 
schemes and designs that may not in honour 
be divulged. The man of science, and the 
mathematician, wrapt in theory, and absorbed in 
calculations which seem to stretch beyond the 
bounds of human capacity, — lost and bewil- 
dered even in the mazes of their own abstruse 
problems, are restored to healthful feelings, 
by the sanctity of domestic peace, and are 
not unfrequently aided by the skilful pen, 
or the accurate pencil of her, whose con- 
jugal affection has made their homes sweet — 
their hearths cheerful^. Hours of needful 

' It is generally reported, that the illustrations in one of 
the most elaborate of the Bridgewater Treatises^ Were the 



THE MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. 135 

repose have often been forced upon the 
philosopher, whilst the anxious partner of 
his toils, has been preparing mechanically 
from rough calculations, the clearer defi- 
nitions by which the literary world were to 
benefit from the labours of a powerful mind. 

The learned Professor of Astronomy in the 
University of Glasgow, when speaking of the 
benefits entailed on posterity by the invaluable 
discoveries of Sir William Herschel, says, "The 
Astronomer, during these engrossing nights, 
was constantly assisted in his labours by a 
devoted sister, who braved with him the incle- 
mency of the weather, — who heroically shared 
his privations that she might participate in his 
delight, — whose pen, we are told, committed to 
paper his notes of observation as they issued 
from his lips. She it was, says the best of 

exclusive performance of the lady of its distinguished and 
learned author. 



136 OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE TO 

authorities^ who, having passed the night near 
the telescope, took the rough manuscripts to 
her cottage at the dawn of day, and produced 
a fair copy of the night's work on the ensuing 
morning ; — she it was who planned the labour 
of each succeeding night,— who reduced every 
observation, made every calculation, and kept 
every thing in systematic order ; — she it was — - 
Miss Caroline Herschel^ — who helped our 
astronomer to gather an imperishable name." 

^ " This venerable lady has in one respect been more fortu- 
nate than her brother, — she has lived to reap the full harvest 
of their joint glory. Some years ago the gold medal of our 
Astronomical Society was transmitted to her, and the first of 
our learned societies has recently inscribed her name upon 
its roll ; but she has been rewarded by yet more, — by what 
she will value beyond all earthly pleasures, — she has lived to 
see her favourite nephew, — him , who grew up tinder her eye 
an astronomer, — gather around him the highest hopes of 
Scientific Europe, and prove himself more than equal to 
tread in the footsteps of his father." 

View of the Architecture of the Heaven, by J. P. Nichol, Pro- 
fessor of Astronomy in the University of Glasgow, pp. 113, 114, 



THE MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. 137 

Milton was not the only parent^ whose 
daughters presented, for the admiration of 
future ages, the immortal productions of a 
blind and afflicted father — neither were the 
accomplished Margaret Roper, or the ad- 
mirable Lady Rachel Russell, solitary ex- 
amples of counsel sought in captivity, and 
both advice, co- operation, and aid received in 
matters of the highest import, from female 
ability. 

Many works of genius and profound erudi- 
tion, — rare manuscripts, and invaluable jour- 
nals, have found a permanent place in English 

' A venerable and learned prelate, who has not been so 
long deceased, but that his memory must yet live in the 
remembrance of many in his diocese, who was the friend of 
Edmund Burke, and well known as an elegant scholar, and 
accomplished naturalist, — was for many years quite blind; 
nevertheless, he performed his clerical duties with accuracy, 
and during the summer pursued his botanical studies, by the 
aid of his daughter to record the observations induced by the 
keenness of his touch. 



138 OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE TO 

Literature, in consequence of female relatives 
having compiled and given to an admiring 
world the productions of their deceased sons 
or husbands, whose lives were too short 
for the completion of their comprehensive 
designs : or, who had fallen an early sacrifice 
to their energy and zeal in pursuing them. 

Truly then may the Christian Mothers of 
England challenge competition with those of 
Greece and Rome, — truly may that noble and 
endearing title be claimed for them without 
apprehension of rivalry from the Matrons of 
any clime, or of any age. Equally enthusi- 
astic in their love for their country, they yet 
sink not, as in the olden time, the woman's 
tenderness, in the sterner and more manly 
virtues ; but fixing their thoughts on Eternity, 
and ever alive to the conviction that to them 
and their offspring their brief sojourn on 
earth is but the probation of a more glorious 



THE MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. 139 

State of existence, they strive from infancy to 
make all sentiments of mere worldly fame 
subservient to those divine precepts, which can 
alone render the actions of their children 
acceptable in the sight of their God. They 
glory in the belief that the greatest triumph of 
a Mother's love, is the power of restraining 
the waywardness of youth, and that the never- 
fading influence, — the remembrance of her 
early lesson, — her tearful eye in displeasure, — 
her sweet smile in approbation, — and the warm 
kiss of affectionate pride, so cherished by the 
child as the Mother's highest reward, — will in 
all probability prove the best safeguard through 
life, and tend to fix the wavering spirit in the 
path of rectitude, and to rescue the wanderer 
from sin and destruction, — from years of 
bitterness on earth, — from endless misery here- 
after. 

As regards Literature, there can be no hesi- 



140 OBLIGATIONS OF LITERATURE TO 

tation in admitting that the works of the 
ancients excite unqualified wonder and admi- 
ration. Their beauty, their grace, their elo- 
quence, are best shewn by that undying fame 
which for ages has perpetuated compositions 
never excelled, perhaps never equalled ; yet 
even in this point,— the one which it is particu- 
larly necessary here to consider, — the benefits 
conferred on learning generally by accom- 
plished British Matrons is evident. The 
pens of our erudite countrymen have in- 
terpreted the doctrines of their wisest 
sages for the instruction of the less accom- 
plished of their sex ; and the classical beauties 
of heathen literature have been collected, 
translated, and rendered more valuable to the 
youthful scholar, by those Christian graces, 
which shed an enduring lustre on writers 
already rendered so eminent by talents and, 
acquirements of the highest order. 



THE MOTHERS OF ENGLAND. 141 

Could recent works of science and philo- 
sophy be with propriety enumerated, — could 
the subject indeed have been sufficiently 
extended, to notice the distinguished names of 
those female authors whose invaluable compo- 
sitions prove a blessing and benefit to the 
present enlightened generation, — doing good 
in their own day, and erecting a temple, within 
which their memory and their works will be 
held in everlasting remembrance, — still greater 
force would be added to the truth, which it has 
been the object of the present Essay to illus- 
trate. 
The Obligations of Literature to the 
Mothers of England. 



FINIS, 



APPENDIX. 



APPENDIX. 



Note A. 

PUDENS AND CLAUDIA OF ST. PAUL. 

(See p. 10.) 

The train of circumstances which fixes the identity 
of the names " Rufus, Pudens, and Claudia," men- 
tioned by St. Paul, with the individuals whose 
birth and marriage have been distinctly, though 
briefly alluded to by the Latin poet, are most 
striking. 

Claudius was chosen Emperor, A. D. 43, and 
reigned till the year 56. 

In the second year of his reign, he began his 
contest vdth the Britons. Caractacus, their leader, 
after opposing the Roman legions for nine years, 
was taken captive in the year 55^ and carried to 
Rome, together with his wife and daughter. 

Struck with the intrepid fortitude of the British 
warrior, Claudius (as Tacitus the historian so 
eloquently described,) ordered his chains to be 

H 



146 APPENDIX. 

struck oflF; and both himself and the Empress 
Agrippina we are told, took pity on his wife and 
child ; the latter of whom, as was the custom of 
that period, was, there is reason to believe, forth- 
with adopted by them, and named Claudia. 

Caractacus, it appears, was still a hostage in 
Rome when Claudius died ; and Nero, who suc- 
ceeded Claudius, was also the adopted of that 
Emperor, so that both he and Claudia formed at the 
same time, part of the imperial household. 

Now it is a remarkable fact, that the detention 
of the British hostages in the imperial city, was 
coincident with St. Paul's residence there, " a 
prisoner ;" and the same year that the holy 
apostle was released after his first examination by 
Nero, was that in which the British captives, 
with their king, Caractacus, were also set at 
liberty by that Emperor, A. D. 58. 

After his first release, St. Paul, in his Epistle 
to the Romans, says, in speaking of distinguished 
converts, " Salute Rufus ;" — but six years after- 
wards, during his second examination, he unites 
the name of Claudia with the favoured disciple 
whom he had previously denominated "chosen in 
the Lord." The cause of this association is made 
apparent from the verses of the poet quoted in 
the text. Martial dwelt at Rome for thirty-five 
years, and was well acquainted with both parties : 
he distinctly verifies the fact, that Claudia, a 



APPENDIX. 147 

British lady, was married to Rufus, and that this 
celebrated Roman citizen was afterwards called 
Pudens, on account of his virtues, modesty, and 
gentleness. 

St. Paul and the poet being contemporaries at 
Rome, there can remain no doubt that the persons 
named by each were the same individuals; for 
nothing can he more improbable than that there 
were two Claudia's born in Britain, or two Rufus's 
surnamed Pudens, at one and the same time; yet 
the Apostle of the Gentiles characterises his con- 
vert by both appellations, in his Epistles to the 
Romans, and to Timothy; between the dates of 
which, viz. the years 58 and 66, it would appear by 
Martial, that Claudia, " British born," was married 
to Rufus, afterwards Pudens, and hence named 
Claudia-Rufina. 



Note B. 

EARLY CHURCHES OF BRITAIN. 

(Seep. 14.) 

The reception and establishment in this sland 
of a deputed ecclesiastic from the see of Rome, 
gradually induced a feeling of jealousy between 
h2 



148 APPENDIX. 

the descendants of the primitive Christians whose 
faith was derived from the Apostolic age, and 
the recent proselytes, whose conversion had 
been effected through the instrumentality of Pope 
Gregory and his missionaries. — " A struggle ac- 
cordingly began between the Papal Christianity 
of Augustine and the more ancient Christianity 
of the British churches ; and though the latter 
were supported by the kindred churches of the 
northern part of the island, they were forced to 
give way to the ascendancy of Rome, which was 
gradually extended throughout the Saxon govern- 
ments." — See Miller's History, Philosophically Il- 
lustrated, vol. i. p. S65. 



Note C. 
bishop smyth, founder of brasenose college, 

OXFORD. 

(See p. 23.) 

" His biographer has supposed him to have 
been educated in the household of Thomas, the 
first Earl of Derby. The Countess of Richmond, 
who was the second wife of this nobleman, ac- 
cording tcr a laudable custom in the houses of 



APPENDIX. 149 

the nobility, provided in this manner for tlie 
instruction of young men of promising talents ; 
and it is known that she was the early patron of 
Smyth/' — Chalmers' History, Oxford, vol. i. p. 227. 



Note D. 

bishop godwin the historian and antiquary. 

(See p. 27.) 

Francis Godwin was promoted by Queen Eli- 
zabeth to the bishopric of Llandaff, in consequence 
of his able and useful works ; and " by the 
countenance and protection which she extended 
to erudite persons, the two Universities are stated 
to have produced more illustrious examples of 
learning and worth than can be instanced in any 
age in the same compass of time." — Ballard's 
Memoirs, p. 158. — Granger's Biog. Hist. vol. i. 
p. 350. 



150 APPENDIX. 



Note E. 
state of literature at the close of the stuart 

DYNASTY. 

(See page 29.) 

" The reign of Queen Anne may be said to 
have been the summer of which William and 
Mary's was only the spring. Every thing was 
ripened; nothing was corrupted. It was a short 
but glorious period of heroism and national ca- 
pacity; of taste and science; learning and genius; 
of gallantry without licentiousness, and politeness 
without effeminacy." — Russell on Women, vol. ii. 
p. 150* 



Note F. 

first written laws of england. 

(See p. 35.) 

The laws of the Anglo-Saxons were first reduced 
to writing by Ethelbert, King of Kent, who 
ascended the throne so early as in the year 568* 

* The laws passed by Ethelbert with the advice of the 
Wittenagemot still exist in the Saxon tongue, being printed in 
Bishop Wilkins's Leges Anglo- Saxonicse. 



APPENDIX. 151 

Afterwards Ina, King of Wessex, and Offa, King 
of Mercia, enacted laws for the regulation of their 
respective kingdoms. King Alfred composed from 
the laws of these three princes, the code which 
he published for the government of his subjects, 
and which became the foundation of the common 
law of England. — Miller, vol. i. p. 373. 



Note G. 
reculver. 
(See p. 33.) 



To accommodate Augustine and his followers, 
Ethelbert resigned to them his royal palace at 
Canterbury, and retired to Reculver, a deserted 
Roman settlement, distant about nine miles ; where, 
having built a palace within the area of its ancient 
walls, he there resided until his death, in the year 
616. 

Reculver had been an important military station 
of the first Roman settlers, and its castle and w^alls 
were among the earliest works of that people in 
this island. By them it was termed Regulbium ; 
and by the Saxons Raculfcester, on account of 
its castle, — and, eventually, Raculf-minster, in 



152 APPENDIX. 

consequence of the monastery that stood there : 
for soon after the arrival of Augustine, a monastic 
foundation was estabhshed at Reculver, which in 
a few years attained to great eminence, and was 
one of those religious seminaries where the Bene- 
dictine monks struck in the dark the first sparks 
of learning in this island. 



Note H. 

SAXON LANGUAGE. 

(Seep. 36.) 



To the neglect of the Saxon tongue has been 
attributed the principal errors of modern his- 
torians writing on those times. After the Norman 
conquest, it was taught in no other seminaries 
but in some of the earlier monasteries of the Bene- 
dictine order ; in which (as it was the language 
of their charter, from their founder being Saxon), 
public lectures were read in that tongue until the 
dissolution ; and a tutor was employed to teach 
the Saxon character to the younger brethren, that 
the knowledge of a language so necessary to elu- 
cidate the primitive history of these kingdoms 
might be perpetuated. 



APPENDIX. 153 

Note I. 

EARLY ENGLISH WRITERS. 

(Seep. 37.) 

In the seventh century, a desire of learning began 
to be generally diffused among the Anglo-Saxons. 
Their most eminent scholars were Gildas, Bede, 
Asser, and Alcuin ; their most popular poets, the 
bards Ccedmon and Aldhelm. 



Note J. 

BEDE, THE HISTORIAN. 

(See p. 37.) 

Of this fact, a brighter example cannot be 
adduced than that of the venerable Bede. Both 
ancient and modern authors have bestowed the 
highest encomiums upon the learning of this ex- 
traordinary man. 

His works are many, but the most valuable is 
his Ecclesiastical History of the Anglo-Saxons, 
consisting of five books, from whence the more 
perfect part of our early national history is derived. 
He was bom in 672, and died at the age of 63. 



H 5 



154 APPENDIX. 



Note K. 

asser, bishop of sherborne, king alfred 's 
biographer. 

(See p. 38.) 

The merits of Alfred are supported by a degree 
of evidence which seldom attends the character of 
ancient days. He had the advantage of possessing 
a literary friend in Asser, Bishop of Sherborne, 
who wrote some biographical sketches of his great 
master's life and manners. He was contemporary 
with Alfred, and the most authentic historian of 
that king. — See S. Turner's Anglo-Saxons, vol. i. 
p. 193. 



Note L. 

INFLUENCE OF QUEEN JUDITH OVER HER SON. 

(See p. 39.) 

" Alfred returning to Queen Judith, eagerly en- 
quired if she actually intended to give the book 
to the person who would soonest learn to read 
it. His mother, repeating the promise with a 
smile of joy at the question, the young prince 



APPENDIX. 155 

took the book, found out an instructor, and learned 
to read. When his modesty had crowned his 
wishes with success, he recited its contents to 
her." — Asser, p. 17. 



Note M. 

literary productions of alfred the great. 

(See p. 40.) 

Of the books which this king translated, the 
principal are, the ' General History of Orosius,' 
— the * Anglo-Saxon History of Bede,' — the 
* Treatises of Boetius de Consolatione Philosophise,' 
and the * Pastoralis Cura of Gregory.' He is also 
said to have translated into his native tongue many 
portions of the Bible ; and, William of Malms- 
bury asserts, a great part likewise of the Roman 
compositions. His fondness for poetry continued 
with him through life. — Sharon Turner, vol. ii. 
p. 286. 



156 APPENDIX. 

Note N. 

matilda, consort of king stephen. 

(See p. 45.) 

A contemporary historian, who was connected 
by blood both with the English and Normans, 
thus quaintly eulogises this princess: — "A woman 
made for the proportion of both fortunes ; in 
adversity not dejected — in prosperity not elated : 
while her husband was at liberty, a woman ; — 
during his durance, as it were a man ; acting his 
part for him when he was restrained from acting 
it himself — not looking that fortune should fall into 
her lap, but industrious to procure it." — -William 
of Malmsbury, fol. 107. 



Note O. 

^ ST. katherine's hospital. 

(Seep. 46.) 

St. Katherine's Hospital, as originally founded, 
was built on the banks of the Thames, adjoining 
the Tower, but it having been found expedient to 



APPENDIX. 157 

talie down the ancient church to form the new 
St. Katherine's Docks, the establishment was re- 
moved to the Regent's Park, where the newly- 
erected buildings, and the very elegant abode 
appropriated to the master, forms a most striking 
object. 

By a reservation in the reign of Eleanor, wife 
of King Edward the First, who was a great bene- 
factress to this charity; the patronage was vested 
in the Queens Consort of England, and her most 
gracious majesty, Queen Adelaide, is the thirtieth 
royal patroness who in succession have enjoyed the 
privileges thus early secured to them.^ — Pennant's 
London, p. 84. 



Note P. 

FIRMNESS OF THE EMPRESS MATILDA, MOTHER OF 
KING HENRY THE FIRST. 

(See p. 48.) 

Matilda's foresight induced her at the commence- 
ment of her son's reign to dissuade him from exalting 
Beckett to the prelacy ; and thirteen months elapsed 
before the archbishop could secure his appointment 
to the vacant see. In after years, when the struggle 



158 APPENDIX. 

for power between the monarch and the haughty 
prelate were at its height, attempts were made to 
subdue King Henry, through the influence of his 
aged mother, by disquieting her conscience with 
threats of eternal as well as temporal danger to her- 
self and her son. But the spirit of her ancestors yet 
animated Matilda. She desired to hear the censured 
laws read, — the emissaries of Beckett, after various 
excuses, were compelled to produce them, and the 
undaunted princess, after attentively listening to 
their recital, not only warmly defended her son, but 
dismissed his opponents with unqualified appro- 
bation of many of the disputed laws, and admiration 
of the firmness evinced by the king in requiring the 
royal dignities to be preserved. — Sharon Turner, 
vol. i. pp. 204 — 224. 



Note Q. 

queen margaret, consort of henry vi. 

(See p. 54.) 

" Such was that still more celebrated Margaret of 
Anjou, — active and intrepid, general and soldier, 
whose genius supported a long time a feeble husband ; 
which taught him to conquer ; which replaced him 



APPENDIX. 159 

upon the throne; which twice relieved him from 
prison ; and oppressed by fortune and by rebels, which 
did not bend till after she had decided in person 
twelve battles." — Russell on "Women, vol. i. p. 3 29, 



Note R. 

a 

LEARNING AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF KING EDWARD 
THE SIXTH. 

(See p. 57.) 

" He had acquired," says the celebrated physician, 
Jerome Cardan, " many languages when he was but 
a child : he was perfect in English, his native tongue, 
and in Latin and French ; and I have been informed 
that he was acquainted with the Greek, Spanish, 
Italian, and other languages. He spake Latin as 
well as I did ; nor was he ignorant of logic, of the 
principles of natural philosophy, and of music." 
Before he was eight years old he wrote Latin letters 
to his father. He succeeded to the throne in the 
tenth year of his age, and he expired at Greenwich 
before he was sixteen. 

The abilities and accomplishments of Edward's 
mind were indeed wonderful ; but his virtues and his 
true piety were yet more extraordinary. From early 



160 APPENDIX. 

childhood, he showed great love and respect for 
religion, and every thing relating to it ; and long 
after his death grave men, both in their letters and 
their printed books, commonly called him " our 
Josiah," or " King Edward the Saint." — Fullers 
Worthies. 



Note S. 

FOUNDATION OF CHRIST's HOSPITAL. 

(See p. 58.) 

"A sermon on charity, preached before King 
Edward, in the sixth year of his reign, by that 
venerable martyr, Bishop Ridley, was the instru- 
ment under God, in bringing about the foundation 
of Christ's Hospital; which, based upon the princi- 
ples of the Reformation, will be a lasting monu- 
ment of the blessed effects of the Protestant religion, 
in the establishment of which its royal founder had 
taken so conspicuous a part. Arrangements having 
been fully completed within six months for the 
reception of 340 children, the young king in the 
year following, June 1553, received the civic autho- 
rities at the palace, and presented them with the 



APPENDIX. 161 

Charter, the children being present at the ceremony.^ 
Edward the Sixth lived about a month after sign- 
ing the incorporation of the Eoyal Hospitals. 

He died of consumption, in the arms of Sir 
Henry Sidney, 6th July, 1553, in the 16th year of 
his age, and the 7th of his reign, praying God to 
receive his spirit, and to defend the realm from 
papistrJ^ In the foundation of Christ's Hospital, 
he had provided the surest means under Providence 
for the success of his prayer, and his life was 
spared just long enough to greet him with the pro- 
mise of that harvest which this seminary of sound 
learning and true religion was destined to yield." — 
Rev. W. Trollope's Hist, of Christ's Hospital, p. 34? 
—42. 



Note T. 

lady bacon, the preceptress of her son. 

(See p. 58.) 

" It was to the great abilities and tender care of 
so accomplished a parent that her two sons owed 
the early part of their education ; and without 

' There is a fine picture, by Holbein, in the Hall of Christ's 
Hospital, descriptive of the scene. 



162 APPENDIX. 

doing any injustice to the genius of either of these 
great men, we may safely affirm that they were 
not a little indebted for the reputation they acquired 
to the pains taken with them by this excellent 
woman in their tender years, when the mind is 
most susceptible of learning, and thereby rendered 
more capable of retaining the principles of science 
than when they are instilled in an age farther 
advanced." — Biographia Britannica, vol. i. p. 412. 



Note U. 

EXTRACT FROM LORD BURLEIGH's LETTER TO 
HIS SON. 

(Seep. 61.) 

This fact is rendered apparent by a letter of 
advice from Lord Burleigh to his son, after his 
mother's decease, which is yet extant. It com- 
mences with these striking words : " Son, Robert 
— The virtuous inclinations of thy matchless 
mother, by whose tender and godly care thy in- 
fancy was governed, together with thy education 
under so zealous and excellent a tutor, puts me in 
rather assurance than hope that thou art not igno- 



APPENDIX. 163 

rant of that summum bonum, which is only able to 
make thee happy, as well in thy death as life : I 
mean the true knowledge and worship of thy 
Creator and Redeemer, without which all other 
things are vain and miserable. So that thy youth, 
being guided by so sufficient a teacher, I make no 
doubt but he will furnish thy life with divine and 
moral documents." — Seward's Anecdotes, vol. iv. 
p. 285. 



Note Y. 

rasselas, prince of abyssinia. 

(See p. 80.) 

" Dr. Johnson told Sir Joshua Reynolds that he 
composed it in the evenings of one week ; sent it 
to the press in portions, as it was written, and 
that he had never since read it over. None of his 
writings have been so extensively diffused over 
Europe ; for it has been translated into most if 
not all of the modern languages.'^ — Boswell's Life 
of Johnson, vol. i. p. 185. 



164 APPENDIX. 

Note W. 

the poet gray. 

(See p. 83.) 

Of twelve children, Gray was the only one who 
survived ; the rest died in their infancy, from suffo- 
cation produced by a fullness of blood ; and he 
owed his life to a memorable instance of the love 
and courage of his mother, vvho removed the 
paroxysm which attacked him by opening a vein 
with her own hand — an instance of affection that 
seems to have been most tenderly remembered by 
him through life, repaid with care and atten- 
tion, and cherished when the object of his 
filial solicitude could no longer claim them. " I 
have discovered," says the poet, in a letter to Mr. 
Nichols, " a thing very little known, which is, 
that in one's whole life one can never have any 
more than a single mother. You may think this 
obvious, and a trite observation ; — yet I never dis- 
covered it (with full confidence and conviction I 
mean) till it was too late. It is thirteen years 
ago, and seems but as yesterday ; and every day I 
live it sinks deeper into my heart." 

Gray lost his mother in the year 1753, shortly 
after the decease of her sister, to whose affection 
the poet was greatly indebted in childhood ; and 
the epitaph which he wrote on their tomb, is con- 



APPENDIX. 165 

sidered to be exceeded by few in our language, for 
pathos and simplicity : — 

In the vault beneath are deposited 

in hope of a joyful resurrection, 

the remains of 

Mary Antrobus. 

She died unmarried, Nov. v. mdccxlix. aged lxvi. 

In the same pious confidence, 

beside her friend and sister, 

Here sleep the remains of 

Dorothy Gray, 

widow. 

The careful tender Mother 

of many children, one of whom alone 

had the misfortune to survive her. 

She died March xi. mdccliii. 

aged Lxvii. 

(See the Life and Writings of Gray, by the Rev. J. Milford.) 



Note X. 

SIR WILLIAM JONES. 

(See p. 88.) 



The solemn expression of his own persuasion of 
the verity and authenticity of the Old and New 



166 APPENDIX. 

Testament, left transcribed by himself in his Bible, 
is well known, but cannot be too often quoted. 
" I have carefully and regularly perused these 
Holy Scriptures, and am of opinion, that the 
volume, independently of its divine origin, contains 
more sublimity, pure morality, more important 
history, and finer strains of eloquence, than can 
be collected from all other books, in whatever 
language they may have been written." He 
had endeavoured to discover the best human 
means of propagating the Gospel throughout India, 
and two of his projected labours were. Trans- 
lations of the Psalms into Persic, and the Gospel 
of St. Luke into Arabic, — Life of Sir Wm. Jones, 
p. 194. 



Note Y. 

sir henry wotton. 

(See p. 90.) 



Sir Henry Wotton, whose elegant works are 
known under the title of ' Reliquiae Wottonianse,' 
was secretary to the Earl of Essex, ambassador 
from James the First to the republic of Venice, 
and other Courts, and in his declining years was 
Provost of Eton College. 



APPENDIX. 167 

Note Z. 

mode of education adopted by mrs. sandford. 

(See p. 90.) 

Mrs. Sandford was the sister-in-law of Mrs. 
Chapone, of literary celebrity, and little inferior 
to her in talent. She was well qualified to supply 
to her four orphan boys the absence of paternal 
care. Their mother, however, trusted much more 
to the natural parts and assiduous habits of her 
sons, than to the assistance of masters. She used 
to incarcerate them for a certain number of hours 
every day, and on their release the task was ge- 
nerally found to have been mastered. On most 
occasions the boys were on honour, and she had 
no reason to regret the confidence reposed in 
them. — Memoirs of the Right Rev. Dr. Sandford, 
Bishop of Edinburgh, p. 6. 



Note A A. 

HENRY KIRKE WHITE. 

(See p. 91.) 



Henry Kirke White was the son of a butcher 
in humble circumstances at Nottingham. At a 



168 APPENDIX 

very early age, his love of reading was a passion 
to which every thing else gave way ; yet his 
mother could not overcome her husband's intention 
of bringing him up to his own business. 

To his mother Henry discovered the cause of his 
unhappiness ; and that affectionate and excellent 
parent quickly discerning that he had a mind 
destined for nobler pursuits, made every possible 
sacrifice to meet his wish to be brought up to one 
of the learned professions. Finding his father 
wholly averse to the plan, from their limited in- 
come, she opened a school in Nottingham, whereby 
her son's home comforts were increased, and she was 
at length enabled to place him in the office of an 
attorney. — Southey's Remains of Kirke White. 



Note B B. 

queen katherine of arragon. 

(Seep. 103.) 

She was not only learned herself, but was a 
patroness of learned men, particularly the great 
Erasmus, and the celebrated Ludovicus Yives. The 
latter she constituted tutor for the Latin tongue 
to her young daughter, the Princess (afterwards 
Queen) Mary : the former calls her, in his 



APPENDIX. 169 

Epistles, " the best of women," and observes that 
she was not only the most pious but the most 
erudite woman of the time. — Ballard's Memoirs, 
p. 20. 



Note C C. 

queen katherine parr, 

(Seep. 103.) 

" The number as well as the piety of her com- 
positions sufficiently show how much of her time 
and thoughts, amidst all the business and cere- 
monies of her station, were employed in secure- 
ing her own eternal happiness; and implanting 
the seeds of piety and virtue in the minds of her 
people. And as she very well knew how far good 
learning was subservient to these great ends, so 
she used her utmost endeavours for the establish- 
ment and improvement of it. When the act was 
made, that all colleges, &c. should be in the 
King's disposal, the University of Cambridge la- 
boured under terrible apprehensions ; and well 
knowing the Queen's great affection to learning, 
they addressed their letters to her, in which they 
intreated her majesty to intercede with the King 



170 APPENDIX. 

for their colleges, which she effectually performed. - 
Strype's Historical Memorials, vol. ii. p. 133. 



Note D D. 

SIR THOMAS MORE's HOUSEHOLD. 

(Seep. 103.) 

Sir Thomas More*s house was reputed by the 
literati of Europe, a little academy. 

Erasmus in so terming it says, — " there he con- 
verseth affably with his family, his wife, his son, 
and daughter-in-law, his three daughters, and their 
husbands, with eleven grand-children. You would 
say there was in that place Plato's Academy; 
but I do the house an injury in comparing it to 
Plato's Academy, wherein there was only dispu- 
tations of numbers and geometrical figures, and 
sometimes of moral virtues. I should rather call 
his a school, or university of Christian religion ; 
for there is none therein but readeth or studieth 
the liberal sciences, and their especial care is piety 
and virtue." — More's Life of Sir Thomas More, 
p. 120. 



APPENDIX. 171 

Note E E. 

bishop jewel. 

(See p. 105.) 

This learned and exemplary prelate was em- 
ployed to repel the accusations brought against the 
Church of England by the Romanists ; this he 
performed to the infinite satisfaction of the reformed 
churches, and to the confusion of her enemies. 
The people in general having a desire to become 
acquainted with the contents of a book so valuable 
at that crisis, this excellent lady undertook the 
translation of it from Latin into English. — Ballard's 
Memoirs, p. 134. 



Note FF. 

ERUDITION of QUEEN ELIZABETH. 

(See p. 108.) 

Queen Elizabeth was skilled in the Greek, and 
spoke the Latin language with fluency. She trans- 
lated from the former a dialogue of Xenophon, two 
Orations of Isocrates, and a play of Euripides ; be- 
sides which she wrote a commentary on the works of 
Plato. From the Latin she translated Boethius' 



172 APPENDIX. 

" Consolations of Philosophy/' Sallust's " Jngurthan 
War," and part of Horace's "Art of Poetry." On her 
departure from Oxford and Cambridge (which seats 
of learning Queen Elizabeth visited in state), she 
expressed her satisfaction to each in a Latin Ora- 
tion, and her liberality and countenance were the 
means of producing many illustrious characters in 
both of the Universities. — See Birch's Hist, of 
Queen Elizabeth — Wood's Hist, and Antiq. Mis. 
Oxon. Lib. i. p. 289. —Fuller s Hist. Cambridge. 



Note GG. 

elizabeth, queen of bohemia. 

(Seep. 112.) 

This amiable princess was united to Frederick 
Count Palatine of the Rhine, afterwards King of 
Bohemia. Her magnanimity and greatness of mind 
were fully proved in the misfortunes which marked 
her eventful career; and her superior intellectual 
powers are attested by the eminence of her children. 

So engaging was her behaviour, that she was in 
the Low Countries, called ** The Queen of Hearts." 
From her are descended the illustrious line which 



APPENDIX. 173 

now sNvay the sceptre of these realms ; Sophia, 
her youngest daughter, — characterized as the most 
accomplished lady in Europe, — being mother to 
George the First, of the Protestant House of Han- 
over, to whom, by virtue of the Act of Settle- 
ment, the Crown of England passed on the decease 
of Queen Anne. 



Note H H. 

lady pakixgton. 

(Seep. 113.) 



"'This most excellent lady, daughter of Lord 
Coventry, the Lord Keeper of the Great Seal, and 
wife of Sir John Pakington, was well known, and 
celebrated by the best and most learned divines of 
her time; yet hardly any pen will be thought 
capable of adding to the reputation her own hath 
procured to her, as the author of a work which is 
not more an honour to the writer than an universal 
benefit to mankind." — Ballard's Memoirs, p. 227. 



i3 



174 APPENDIX. 

Note 1 1. 

mrs. phillips. 

(Seep. 120.) 

The singularly estimable character of this lady, 
whose maiden name was Fowler, and who was mar- 
ried about the year 1647, to James Phillips, Esq. of 
the Priory, Cardigan, may be best estimated by her 
friendship with Jeremy Taylor, the amiable Bishop 
Down and Connor ; and by the elevated virtues as 
a wife, and a mother, and rare accomplishments as a 
woman to which he alludes in a letter printed in 
his " Polemical and Moral Discourses." 



Note K K. 

liADY RACHEL RUSSELL. 

(Seep. 122.) 

" I ask no assistance," said Lord William Russell 
to the Attorney-general, when placed on his trial, 
^' but that of the lady who sits by me." At these 
words the spectators turning their eyes on the 
daughter of the virtuous Southampton, who rose to 
assist her husband in his distress, melted into tears. 



APPENDIX. 175 

This illustrious atid heroic lady was distinguished 
by the respect and friendship of Bishops Tillotson, 
Burnet, and the first persons of the age, in rank, 
literature, or goodness. — Hume's Hist. England. 



Note LL. 

queen mary, consort of william the third. 

(Seep. 123.) 

" Queen Mary was the most universally lamented 
Princess, and deserved the best to be so, of any in 
our age or in our history. The female part of the 
court had been in former reigns subject to much 
censure, and there was great cause for it ; but she 
freed her court so entirely from all suspicion, that 
there was not so much as a colour for discourses of 
that sort." — Burnet's Own Times, vol. iv. p. 195. 



Note MM. 

MRS. ELIZABETH BURNETT. 

(Seep. 123.) 

The Bishops of Oxford, Worcester, Durham, and 
several other learned and eminent divines have 



176 APPENDIX. 

left testimonials in their writings of this lady's 
extraordinary merit, and great learning : the num- 
ber educated solely at her expense in and about 
Worcester and Salisbury were about an hundred. — 
Ballard's Memoirs, p. 279. 



Note N N. 



CHARACTER OF ENGLISH LADIES DURING THE REIGN 
OF QUEEN ANNE. 

(See p. 124.) 

" We are in doubt which most to admire in the 
women of this reign, — the manners, the talents, 
or the accomplishments. They were religious with- 
out severity and without enthusiasm ; they were 
learned without pedantry; they were intelligent 
and attractive, without neglecting the duties of their 
sex ; they were elegant and entertaining without 
levity ; in a word, they joined the graces of society to 
the knowledge of letters, and the virtues of domestic 
life, — they were friends and companions, without 
ceasing to be wives and mothers." —Russell on 
Women, vol. ii. p. 151. 



APPENDIX. 177 

Note O O. 

the phylactery of mrs. bland. 

(Seep. 125.) 

Among the curiosities of the Royal Society is 
preserved, in Mrs. Bland's own writing, a Phy- 
lactery, in Hebrew. Dr. Grew, (w^ho has given 
a particular account of it) observes the original 
use of them to be, for mementoes, grounded on tlie 
command, Deut. vi. 8. They afterwards served 
for spells or amulets: — from whence the use of 
charms amongst Christians was first derived; and 
those who gave them were Phylacterii. Prohibited 
by the Council of Trent. 



Note P P. 

COXSTANTIA GRIERSON. 

(Seep. 126.) 

This prodigy of early talents and acquirements, 
was one of the most extraordinary women that 
either that age, or perhaps any other, ever pro- 
duced. 

Her parents were poor and illiterate people ; yet, 



178 APPENDIX. 

long before her death, at the early age of 27, she 
was an excellent scholar, not only in classic litera- 
ture, but in history, divinity, philosophy, and 
mathematics. She gave a proof of her know- 
ledge of the Latin tongue by her dedication of 
the Dublin edition of Tacitus to Lord Carteret, 
when Lord Lieutenant of Ireland ; and by tliat of 
Terence to his son, to whom she likewise wrote 
a Greek epigram. — Biog, Foem. 



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